President Joe Biden is slated to deliver remarks on Wednesday detailing his plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, a final step in ending America’s longest war.
Biden’s announcement comes after a senior administration official said Tuesday the president would pull all troops out of Afghanistan by September 11, or 20 years after the terror attacks that brought the U.S to war. However, the official noted the troop withdrawal could come before that date.
In Feb. 2020 the Trump administration inked a deal with the Taliban for a complete troop withdrawal by May 1, 2021. But Biden said the May 1 deadline would be “tough” to meet in a March interview with ABC News.
Senators on both sides of the aisle expressed reservations about the administration’s plans on troop withdrawal.
“Foreign terrorists will not leave the United States alone simply because our politicians have grown tired of taking the fight to them. The president needs to explain to the American people why he thinks abandoning our partners and retreating in the face of the Taliban will make America safer,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, said Tuesday on the Senate floor.
“I just am concerned that after so much blood and national treasure, that we don’t lose what we were seeking to achieve,” Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said Tuesday. Menendez chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria have cost U.S. taxpayers more than $1.57 trillion collectively since Sept. 11, 2001, according to a Defense Department report.
– CNBC’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
