Commanders wanted a cushion in case there were security challenges or a plane broke down at the last minute. Senior commanders made the decision a few days ago to depart unannounced roughly 24 hours before the withdrawal deadline, two military officials said. It cleared Afghan air space several minutes later, on Tuesday, Aug. General McKenzie said the last plane took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport at 11:59 p.m. Their view was that ending our military mission was the best way to protect the lives of our troops, and secure the prospects of civilian departures for those who want to leave Afghanistan in the weeks and months ahead.” “For now,” he said, “I will report that it was the unanimous recommendation of the Joint Chiefs and of all of our commanders on the ground to end our airlift mission as planned. 31, Kabul time - with no further loss of American lives,” Mr. “I want to thank our commanders and the men and women serving under them for their execution of the dangerous retrograde from Afghanistan as scheduled - in the early morning hours of Aug. President Biden said in a written statement that he would address the nation on Tuesday to mark the end of the war. contractors, the Afghan military and national police, insurgents and others, according to the Costs of War Project at Brown University. military personnel and nearly 50,000 Afghan civilians died in the 20-year war, in addition to tens of thousands of casualties among U.S.
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“No words from me could possibly capture the full measure of sacrifices and accomplishments of those who served.” McKenzie Jr., the head of the military’s Central Command. “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 Sept. The last Air Force C-17, with the call sign MOOSE 85, departed at midnight local time carrying the final remaining American forces, a U.S. service members and as many as 170 civilians in one of the war’s deadliest days.Įvacuation flights ended on Monday, and the military finished packing everything it intended to fly out of the airport onto transport planes before loading the remaining service members. But those efforts were wrapped up a full day early - just days after an attack on the airport by Islamic State Khorasan killed 13 U.S. 31, the deadline set by President Biden earlier this summer. military spent two decades fighting.Īmerican military leaders had said the United States would continue evacuation efforts and fully withdraw no later than Aug. The last vestiges of the American presence in Afghanistan departed the Kabul airport on Monday, halting an occupation that cost more than 170,000 lives and ended with a complete takeover of the country by the adversary the U.S. Central Command, said that the United States had finished its withdrawal, ending the 20-year occupation of Afghanistan. That includes 6,000 Americans and more than 73,500 third-country nationals and Afghan civilians. military aircraft have evacuated more than 79,000 civilians from Hamid Karzai International Airport. Since August the 14th, over an 18-day period, U.S. I do want to provide some important context to the evacuation mission that we just completed in what was the largest noncombatant evacuation in the U.S. service members who were killed last week by an ISIS-K suicide bomber. service members and civilians killed, and more than 20,000 who were injured. It’s a mission that brought Osama bin Laden to a just end, along with many of his Al Qaeda co-conspirators, and it was not a cheap mission. 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 Sept. citizens and eligible Afghans who want to leave continues.
While the military evacuation is complete, the diplomatic mission to ensure additional U.S. East Coast time, and the last manned aircraft is now clearing the airspace above Afghanistan. The last C-17 lifted off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. I’m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third-country nationals and vulnerable Afghans. Military Announces End of Evacuation Effort in Afghanistan Gen.
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