Anonymous

“ And we have to continue relentlessly to work to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a base from which terrorists can attack the United States.
So, in coordination with our Afghan partners and with other allies, we will reposition our counterterrorism capabilities, retaining significant assets in the region to counter the potential reemergence of a terrorist threat to the homeland from Afghanistan, and to hold the Taliban to its commitment to ensure al Qaeda does not once again threaten the United States or our interests or our allies. ”

“ We’re going to make clear to any nation, any government, any party that wants to participate in a government that if they want international legitimacy or connection to the rest of the world and does not want to be deemed a “pariah state,” then they must not interfere with the progress that has been made to advance human rights, including for women, girls, and minorities in Afghanistan. ”

“ We will begin an orderly drawdown of the remaining forces before May 1st and plan to have all U.S. troops out of the country before the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
The President is deeply grateful for the honor, courage, and determination of the U.S. men and women who have served in Afghanistan for almost two decades, as well as the sacrifices made not just by those troops, but also by their families.
We went to Afghanistan to deliver justice to those who attacked us on September 11th and to disrupt terrorists seeking to use Afghanistan as a safe haven to attack the United States. ”

“ We believe that we retain substantial military and intelligence capabilities to disrupt the broader capacity of al Qaeda to successfully reconstitute the sustained homeland threat to the United States. ”

“ And we will exercise those capabilities, again, both directly and by holding the Taliban accountable with all the tools at our disposal for ensuring that Afghanistan is not a base for attacks against the West.And then, with respect to protecting women’s rights, the United States, as I mentioned in my opening comments, will use its full diplomatic, humanitarian, and economic toolkit to try to — as best we can — to protect the gains made by women and girls over the course of the past 20 years. We’re committed to supporting our Afghan partners. ”

“ The President has judged that a conditions-based approach, which has been the approach of the past two decades, is a recipe for staying in Afghanistan forever.And so he has reached the conclusion that United States will complete its drawdown, will remove its forces from Afghanistan before September 11th. ”

“ When we came into office, the Biden administration inherited a number of things: the lowest number of U.S. and partner forces since the early days of the war; an agreement between the United States and the Taliban to draw down all U.S. troops by May 1, just three months after Inauguration Day; as well as a military stalemate between the Taliban and Afghan forces. ”

“ So, you know, we have made really substantial investments over two decades. And we will do all we can, working with the international community, to protect those gains but not with the continuation of a military force on the ground. ”

“ And we will refine our counterterrorism strategy to monitor and disrupt terrorist threats to the homeland and to our interests in a way that contends with the dispersed threats big picture we face today. ”