Final US evacuation flight leaves Afghanistan, ending 20-year military presence

The 20-year US military presence in Afghanistan is over. The head of US Central Command, Gen Kenneth McKenzie, announced just after midnight Tuesday morning, 31 August, that the last flight out of Kabul was ‘now clearing the airspace above Afghanistan’.
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‘Tonight’s withdrawal signifies both the end of the military component of the evacuation, but also the end of the nearly 20-year mission that began in Afghanistan shortly after September 11 2001,’ he said.

United States secretary of state Antony Blinken said in a speech a few hours later that a ‘new chapter’ with America’s engagement with Afghanistan had begun. ‘It’s one in which we will lead with our diplomacy. The military mission is over,’ he said.

After 20 years, last US flight departs Kabul, leaving Afghanistan to its fate ► https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/30/pentagon-kabul-drone-strike-islamic-state

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