![]() We will continue to provide civilian and humanitarian assistance, including speaking out for the rights of women and girls. support for the people of Afghanistan will endure. ![]() In our meeting, I also assured Ghani that U.S. ![]() And we’ll ensure they have the capacity to maintain their air force.īut most critically, as I stressed in my meeting just two weeks ago with President Ghani and Chairman Abdullah, Afghan leaders have to come together and drive toward a future that the Afghan people want and they deserve. And we’re going to continue to provide funding and equipment. We provided our Afghan partners with all the tools - let me emphasize: all the tools, training, and equipment of any modern military. Add to that, hundreds of thousands more Afghan National Defense and Security Forces trained over the last two decades. Together, with our NATO Allies and partners, we have trained and equipped over three hu- nearly 300,000 current serving members of the military - of the Afghan National Security Force, and many beyond that who are no longer serving. And it’s the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country. We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build. We remain - we retain personnel and capacities in the country, and we maintain some authority - excuse me, the same authority under which we’ve been operating for some time.Īs I said in April, the United States did what we went to do in Afghanistan: to get the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and to deliver justice to Osama Bin Laden, and to degrade the terrorist threat to keep Afghanistan from becoming a base from which attacks could be continued against the United States. military mission in Afghanistan continues through the end of August. And the same is true of our NATO Allies and partners who have supported - we are supporting, and supporting us as well, as they conclude their retrograde. ![]() And there was never any doubt that our military would perform this task efficiently and with the highest level of professionalism. Conducting our drawdown differently would have certainly come with a increased risk of safety to our personnel. forces or any forces have - have been lost. And in this context, speed is safety.Īnd thanks to the way in which we have managed our withdrawal, no one - no one U.S. Our military commanders advised me that once I made the decision to end the war, we needed to move swiftly to conduct the main elements of the drawdown. The drawdown is proceeding in a secure and orderly way, prioritizing the safety of our troops as they depart. Our military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31st. When I announced our drawdown in April, I said we would be out by September, and we’re on track to meet that target. Earlier today, I was briefed by our senior military and national security leaders on the status of the drawdown of U.S.
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