The United States sometimes forgets what the original reason was for sending troops to Afghanistan 20 years ago. This was stated by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in an interview with CBS News, which aired on May 2.
"But..> we have been involved in Afghanistan for 20 years and sometimes we forget why we went there in the first place — to take action against those who attacked us on September 11. And we did it, " Blinken said.
Commenting on the possibility that after the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan, the radical Taliban movement (banned in Russia) will come to power in the country, the US Secretary of State noted that Washington should be ready for any scenario.
Blinken added that the United States is not fully withdrawing from Afghanistan. The embassy and the assistance that the United States provides to the country remain in the country.
On April 29, the United States confirmed the beginning of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Moreover, at the first stage of the operation, the American contingent in the country will increase for security purposes. According to the plan, the withdrawal of troops will be completed before September 11.
On April 14, American President Joe Biden announced that the United States will begin withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan from May 1. At the same time, as previously assumed, by this date, the US military in full force will already leave the country.
In the same month, Biden's national security aide, Jake Sullivan, said that Washington had achieved the goals set at the beginning of the operation in Afghanistan in 2001, which, as he noted, were to investigate the attack on the United States on September 11, 2001.
Last February, at a ceremony in Qatar, the United States and the Taliban signed the first peace agreement in more than 18 years of war. The Taliban has given a guarantee that they will not use the territory of Afghanistan for actions that pose a threat to the security of the United States and its allies. The Americans promised to withdraw their troops from the country.
