U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will end by August 31, Joe Biden says

U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will end by August 31, Joe Biden says

Washington : President Joe Biden on Thursday said the US military mission in Afghanistan would conclude on August 31, saying “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war.

“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech to update his administration's ongoing efforts to wind down the US war in Afghanistan. “Afghan leaders have to come together and drive toward a future.”

Almost all UK troops withdrawn: Johnson

London: Most British troops have been pulled out of Afghanistan, British PM Boris Johnson said on Thursday, ending its official role in a two-decade-long conflict.

Biden also amplified the justification of his decision to end US military operations even as the Taliban make rapid advances in significant swaths of the country.

The effort to further explain his thinking on Afghanistan comes as the administration in recent days has repeatedly sought to frame ending the conflict as a decision that Biden made after concluding it's an “unwinnable war” and one that “does not have a military solution.” — AP