WASHINGTON — America’s longest war has ended after 20 years as the last U.S. troops departed Afghanistan, concluding a final, frantic airlift.
A Taliban guard at Kabul’s airport says the last U.S. planes have flown out and celebratory gunfire erupted across the Afghan capital marking the symbolic end of 20 years of war. In Washington, the U.S. confirmed the withdrawal of its last troops, which faced a self-imposed Tuesday deadline.
Hemad Sherzad, a Taliban fighter stationed at the airport, said early Tuesday the last five U.S. planes departed about midnight. That marked the end of a massive airlift that has allowed more than 116,000 people to leave since the Taliban swept back into power two weeks ago.
In announcing the completion of the evacuation and war effort. Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said the last planes took off from Kabul airport at 3:29 p.m. EDT, or one minute before midnight in Kabul.
Earlier Monday, Islamic State militants fired a volley of rockets at Kabul’s rapidly emptying international airport without hurting anyone. All day, U.S. military cargo jets came and went despite the rocket attack.
The Taliban had earlier released a video shot from the airport’s grounds, saying the Americans had removed or destroyed most of their equipment and that troop numbers were far lower. “It looks like today will be the last day,” one of the unidentified fighters said.
With the departure of the last of its troops, the U.S. ends its 20-year war with the Taliban back in power. Many Afghans remain fearful of them or further instability, and there have been sporadic reports of killings and other abuses in areas under Taliban control despite pledges to restore peace and security.
In the last 24 hours, the American military evacuated about 1,200 people on 26 C-17 flights, while two coalition flights flew out 50 others, the White House said.
The steady stream of U.S. military jets taking off and landing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan’s capital continued Monday even after rocket fire targeted the airport and rockets hit a nearby neighborhood. U.S. Central Command spokesman Bill Urban said five rockets targeted the airport and a U.S. defensive system on the airfield known as a Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar System, or C-RAM, was employed against them. He said there were no U.S. casualties and the airfield continued to operate. Further details were not immediately available. The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the rocket attack.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. was working with other countries in the region to either keep the Kabul airport open after Tuesday or to reopen it “in a timely fashion.”
He also said that while the airport is critical, “there are other ways to leave Afghanistan, including by road, and many countries border Afghanistan.” The U.S., he said, is “making sure that we have in place all of the necessary tools and means to facilitate the travel for those who seek to leave Afghanistan” after Tuesday.
There also are roughly 280 others who have said they are Americans but who have told the State Department they plan to remain in the country or are undecided. According to the latest totals, about 114,000 people have been evacuated since Aug. 14, including about 2,900 on military and coalition flights during the 24 hours ending at 3 a.m. Sunday.
Members of Congress criticized the chaotic and violent evacuation.
“We didn’t have to be in this rush-rush circumstance with terrorists breathing down our neck,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. “But it’s really the responsibility of the prior administration and this administration that has caused this crisis to be upon us and has led to what is without question a humanitarian and foreign policy tragedy.”
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the U.S. policy in Afghanistan, with 2,500 troops on the ground, had been working. “We were, in effect, keeping the lid on, keeping terrorists from reconstituting, and having a light footprint in the country,” he said.
About the Author
