War is over: Pentagon

KABUL: The two-decade US-led war in Afghanistan has officially come to a close as the final military plane departed the international airport in Taliban-ruled Kabul amid a chaotic airlift to transport US nationals and allied Afghans that served the war effort. The sound of gunfire was heard across Kabul early Tuesday. AFP correspondents in the city heard celebratory gunfire from several known Taliban checkpoints, as well as the cheers of fighters manning security posts in the green zone.

“Final plane is wheels up. War is over,” a senior US defense official told Newsweek. A “notice to airmen” (NOTAM) issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration also classified that “effective immediately” Hamid Karzai International Airport “is uncontrolled.” The news came as the clock turned midnight in local time, marking the August 31 deadline announced earlier this year by President Joe Biden for the end to U.S. military operations in Afghanistan ahead of the symbolic 20th anniversary of 9/11.

America’s longest war cost the lives of nearly 50,000 Afghan civilians, 2,500 US service members, 66,000 Afghan national military and police, 457 British armed forces personnel, and 50,000 Taliban and opposition. The Pentagon said Monday the U.S. had completed efforts to evacuate its remaining civilians and troops from Afghanistan, effectively ending the longest war in American history. The departure of the last U.S. plane from Afghanistan capped a bloody and chaotic end to the conflict. The civilians are still be evacuated from the country, Pentagon said. In the war’s final weeks, fighting and terror attacks amid the scramble to evacuate thousands of Americans and Afghans left 13 service members and hundreds of civilians dead, prompting harsh criticism of President Biden from both Republicans and Democrats. The U.S. is not expected to have any diplomatic or military presence in the country after this point, officials said.

The pullout was beset by a number of issues, including a rapid Taliban takeover that appeared to stun even U.S. officials, who were still clamoring to secure an airlift of tens of thousands of Afghans fearing they and their families may face retribution for their service to the U.S.

Pentagon officials said Monday that they would not reveal details about when the final evacuation flights would take place for security reasons. Asked then what they would tell Americans who still wanted to leave, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said only: “There is still time.” White House spokesperson Psaki said the administration remained committed to getting all those who wanted to leave Afghanistan out of that country, even beyond the Aug. 31 deadline. “Our commitment is enduring and our commitment does not waver even as we bring the men and women from our military home,” Psaki said.

A White House official said Monday that since the Taliban took control of Kabul in mid-August, the U.S. had evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 116,700 people. Since the end of July, the U.S. has relocated approximately 122,300 people, the official said.

The evacuation continued “uninterrupted”, the White House said, despite a barrage of rockets that had been fired toward Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. A State Department memo obtained by NBC News Sunday said that the agency had begun evacuating remaining diplomatic workers on two planes carrying U.S. government employees, and secured all locally employed U.S. Embassy staff members, processing the last three buses and evacuating 2,800 employees and family members, according to the cable.

“I´m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens,” head of Central Command General Kenneth McKenzie said.

McKenzie said the Taliban had been “very helpful and useful” in conducting the evacuation and the final flights, despite the deep enmity between the two sides.

The commander of American military forces on the ground in Afghanistan and Washington´s ambassador there were the last to board the final evacuation flight from Kabul on Monday, the head of US Central Command said.

“On the last airplane out was General Chris Donahue, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, and my ground force commander there,” McKenzie told reporters at the Pentagon.“And he was accompanied by Ambassador Ross Wilson.” McKenzie said they were the last on the ground at Kabul airport.

Earlier, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution requiring the Taliban to honor their commitment to let people freely leave Afghanistan, but the measure did not cite a “safe zone” mentioned by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The resolution — drafted by the United States, Britain and France — was passed with 13 votes in favor and no objections. China and Russia abstained. The resolution says the council expects the Taliban to allow a “safe, secure, and orderly departure from Afghanistan of Afghans and all foreign nationals.”

It refers to an August 27 statement by the Taliban in which the hardline Islamists said Afghans would be able to travel abroad, and leave Afghanistan any time they want to, including by any border crossing, both air and ground. The Security Council “expects that the Taliban will adhere to these and all other commitments,” the resolution says.

Macron had raised hopes of more concrete proposals in comments published in the weekly Journal du Dimanche over the weekend.He said Paris and London would present a draft resolution which “aims to define, under UN control, a ´safe zone´ in Kabul, that will allow humanitarian operations to continue,” Macron said.

“I am very hopeful that it will be successful. I don´t see who could be against making humanitarian projects secure,” he said.But the UN resolution is far less ambitious. It is not clear whether another resolution proposing a “safe zone” will be circulated later on. “This resolution is not an operational aspect. It´s much more on principles, key political messages and warnings,” a UN diplomat told reporters.

Richard Gowan, UN expert at the International Crisis Group, said the resolution “does at least send a political signal to the Taliban about the need to keep the airport open and help the UN deliver aid,” but is “a pretty thin text.” “Macron was guilty of overselling the idea of a safe zone at Kabul airport this weekend, or at least not communicating very clearly,” he told AFP.

The text calls for the Taliban to allow for “full, safe, and unhindered access” for the United Nations and other agencies to provide humanitarian assistance. It also “reaffirms the importance” of upholding human rights, including of children, women and minorities and encourages all parties to seek an inclusive, negotiated political settlement with the “full, equal and meaningful representation of women.”

The text also calls for Afghanistan to “not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terrorist acts.”Experts said the resolution was watered down to ensure China and Russia would not use their vetoes to block it, including softening some of the language related to the Taliban.Moscow said it could not support the text because it did not mention the “brain drain” caused by Afghans leaving or the “harmful influence” of the freezing of Afghan financial assets.Beijing said the current chaos was a direct consequence of Western countries´ “disorderly withdrawal.”