US Secretary of State visits Kabul to discuss US withdrawal

Antony Blinken, the head of American diplomacy, arrived Thursday, April 15, in Afghanistan for a surprise visit. Mr Blinken was due to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as well as senior US officials based in Afghanistan to present the Biden administration’s plan to withdraw all US troops by September 11, the day of 20^e anniversary of the 2001 attacks.

“I’m here, so soon after the president’s speech last night [mercredi], in order to literally demonstrate, by our presence, that we are continuing our engagement in Afghanistan ”Mr. Blinken told the US Embassy. “This partnership is changing, but this partnership continues”, he added during his meeting with Mr. Ghani at the presidency.

Joe Biden said on Wednesday the time had come to “End America’s longest war”, triggered after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The departure of the Americans will take place several months after the deadline of 1^er May, enshrined in the agreement reached by former President Donald Trump with the Taliban in February 2020, when negotiations between Kabul and the insurgents have stalled and there is no indication that the violence will decrease.

The withdrawal of the 2,500 American soldiers still present in the country will begin on 1^er May, together with those of the North Atlanic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Atlantic Alliance’s “Resolute Support” mission brings together 9,600 soldiers from 36 countries.

Threats from the Taliban

President Ghani said “Respect” this decision, considering that the Afghan forces were “Fully capable of defending their people and their country”, which many observers doubt. The Taliban did not welcome this passing of the deadline. “If the agreement is violated and the foreign forces do not leave our country on the due date, (…) there will surely be problems, and those who do not respect the agreement will be held responsible ”, warned a Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, on Wednesday.

The day before, the insurgents had warned that they would refuse, “As long as all foreign forces have not completed their withdrawal”, to participate in the peace conference in Afghanistan scheduled for April 24 to May 4 in Istanbul, Turkey. This meeting was supposed to re-launch the unprecedented direct peace negotiations opened in September between the Taliban and the Afghan government, but the announced absence of the Taliban risks prolonging the impasse.