In the first year of his presidency, President Biden made a concrete promise to pull American service members out of Afghanistan before the twentieth anniversary of the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks, allowing the American-constructed Afghan regime to begin running the nation on their own. 

This military withdrawal from Afghanistan has been considered by previous presidents such as President Obama, who promised to evacuate troops by 2016, as well as Biden’s predecessor, Trump. Although Biden and Trump disagreed on most issues, reeling in American presence in Afghanistan was one issue that they seemed to see eye to eye on. In April of 2021, Trump is quoted saying “Getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do. I planned to withdraw on May 1st, and we should keep as close to that schedule as possible.” He followed with a statement in June, claiming that he started the process of bringing the troops home.

However, as the negative repercussions of this month’s withdrawal began to show, Trump doubled-back on the situation, calling it “not acceptable,” begging the question of whether or not this was a partisan issue, as the more right-leaning Americans are arguing, or if this was an administrative flaw dating back through multiple presidencies. In the case of these two presidents who never seemed to be on the same wavelength, the chances that they agreed on this decision prove that this was a wholly administrative issue that depended very little on Democratic versus Republican standing. 

President Biden was the first president to take tangible, and possibly rash action on this front. After negotiating and signing a binding contract with the Taliban, an extreme religious organization of international terrorists, the U.S. fell under time constraints to remove troops or risk catastrophic run-ins with the group. 

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, America began interfering with the Taliban’s agenda in the Middle East, who were known for harboring the al Qaeda terrorists behind the attacks. Before U.S. interference in the early 2000s, the Taliban was the governing body of Afghanistan. In response to their part in 9/11, America took military control of Afghanistan and began building a stable regime in the nation, intended to be independent after a few years, but ended in tragedy.

In recent weeks, the withdrawal began. Mere days later, Afghanistan crumbled to the Taliban, leaving Afghan citizens and American troops in grave danger, U.S. veterans in frustrated disbelief, and the nation under the control of these extremists for the second time in twenty years.

With the very structure of Afghanistan teetering on the edge of tragedy, American troops scrambled to evacuate as many people as they could, both Afghan and American, from the country. C-17s, with a normal capacity of about 102 troops, were evacuating up to around 800 Afghan men, women, and children. In total, around 85,000 Afghan refugees have been evacuated by the United States, including around 4,500 Americans, while other members of NATO, like the UK, have also aided in evacuations. Such efforts have remained fragile and dangerous, as the U.S. troops have at times been working mere feet away from Taliban members in attempts to evacuate as many people as possible. 

As of today, August 26th, more terrorists have involved themselves in the tragedies that have transpired recently, leading to fatal disasters. Today, a suicide bomber from the Syrian terrorist group ISIS-K entered the first gate at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. Many Americans watched with heavy hearts as reports poured in concerning the tragic event. The bombing resulted in the deaths of 12 American service members, as well as 15 more injured, confirmed by Marine Corps General Kenneth Mckenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command. On the Afghan side, at least 90 casualties have been reported. 

This tragic event facilitated by violent terrorists marks the deadliest attack on service members in the past decade. The bombing seemed to be an attempt to destabilize the Taliban on behalf of ISIS, and could likely lead to more issues between the groups. 

In response to the bombing, President Biden has declared the orchestrators of this attack will be met with retaliation and that any more attacks affecting American troops will receive a major reaction from the U.S. military. 

President Biden relayed the intentions of the U.S. Military in his message today: “To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this: We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay. Our mission will go on. America will not be intimidated.”