650 Troops Will Remain In Afghanistan, Despite Biden Withdrawal Promise

Roughly 650 U.S. troops are expected to remain in Afghanistan after President Biden promised to complete a full withdrawal by September.

The troops will remain to both provide security for diplomats at the U.S. embassy and to assist Turkish troops in providing security at the Kabul airport, the Associated Press reports. Most U.S. officials expect the majority of American and coalition military command, leadership and the rest of the troops out of the country by July 4th.

The move to withdraw most troops was an early campaign promise by Biden, but it now comes as the Taliban once again makes some gains in the area. In the 20 years since the country was first invaded under the Bush administration, the group has grown to occupy as much as 52% of the land in Afghanistan. The military has proven to be unsuccessful in an effort to scale back the hold.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has warned that the increased violence presents a “real danger.”

Biden has faced strong criticism from Republicans for partially removing troops from Afghanistan, even though his predecessor, Donald Trump, had also planned to do the same thing.

The Afghanistan Papers, a bombshell report by the Washington Post in 2019, previously detailed just how costly and unwinnable the war had been, stating that U.S. military officials had routinely misled the public, made optimistic statements and hid evidence showing the truth. Overall, according to the Military Times, the war has cost over $2 trillion, killed 2,400 service members and wounded an additional 20,000.

The troops' departure also comes as Biden announced plans to evacuate translators who assisted the U.S. military during the war to U.S. territories and allow them to apply for visas.