U.S. Begins Reducing Troop Levels at Kabul Airport
Aviation News Desk:
The United States has begun to reduce its military presence at the Kabul airport as President Biden seeks to stick to an Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawing from Afghanistan. report Washington Post.
Biden announced Tuesday afternoon that the United States is on track to leave Afghanistan by that date. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement Tuesday evening that the formal process for withdrawing troops had not been ordered but that hundreds of U.S. troops with “enabling functions” had been ordered to depart.
Kirby said their departures would have “no impact on the mission at hand.” The United States has sent thousands of additional troops to Kabul this month to assist with evacuating Americans and Afghan allies.
Some U.S. allies have expressed concern about the Aug. 31 deadline, and Biden said he has asked officials to prepare plans “to adjust the timetable, should that become necessary.” He earlier suggested that the United States might extend its stay, though the Taliban has rejected that idea.
