Biden announces withdrawal of U.S. military from Afghanistan

The Biden administration aims to withdraw all American troops by the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. WikiCommons

Update April 30, 5:45 p.m. PT: At the outset of U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan in 2001, Lisa Leitz, a Chapman University peace studies professor, took to the streets in Columbus, Ohio, to protest what would become a two-decade-long war. In the face of overwhelming support for the invasion of Afghanistan and judgment from friends and family who supported the war, Leitz, then a graduate student beginning her doctorate at Ohio State University, stood firm against the country’s actions.

Now, as President Joe Biden announced a plan for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021 — commemorating the 9/11 attacks that sparked the war — Leitz is conflicted about the potential fallout in Afghanistan caused by the nation’s exit from the Middle Eastern country. 

“I think it sounds good to end the war on September 11, but I fear it won’t be good for the people of Afghanistan,” Leitz told The Panther. “In general, the United States has made so many mistakes in Afghanistan. My biggest fear is that this will just be one more mistake that we’re making.”

The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was launched against the terrorist group, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban regime that harbored them. Biden declared the primary goal of the invasion — to deny terrorists refuge in the nation — a completed objective. 

“War in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multigenerational undertaking,” Biden said in an April 14 address. 

Bojan Petrovic, a Chapman peace studies professor who specializes in research on Afghanistan, foresees continued U.S. involvement in the country in non-military areas even as the Biden administration withdraws troops. 

“The decision has been made that the Biden administration wants the troops out, but that isn’t to suggest that the United States will somehow completely leave Afghanistan to the Afghans,” Petrovic said. “I think there’s going to be economic efforts to influence internal affairs; there’s going to be diplomatic efforts to influence what’s going on and a continuing discussion of the military pressures that the United States might get involved in to put pressure on the Taliban.”

The U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, as well as its later undertaking in Iraq and other conflicts taken up in the “war on terror,” have been termed “forever wars” by many. Unlike the Iraq War, which became steadily more unpopular since its start in 2003, recent polls about U.S. involvement in Afghanistan reflect a possible lack of strong opinions on the matter.

Leitz believes that the war in Afghanistan is not a subject that many Americans are well-versed in. She said the general lack of coverage, along with more recent conflicts like U.S. involvement in the Syrian civil war, is a contributor to ambivalence toward the international conflict.

“Americans tend to know very little about what’s happening outside the border of the United States, compared to other nations,” Leitz said. “I think most people in the United States have forgotten about Afghanistan. We’ve been there for 20 years and it’s like it’s just erased from our memories.”

Kinsley Rolph, a sophomore broadcast journalism and documentary major, has one cousin who served in Afghanistan when she was a child. Although she keenly followed U.S. involvement — particularly during the search for Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden — she has since not kept up with the ongoing conflict. 

“Once (Bin Laden was killed in 2011), I kind of lost track of (the war) because I didn’t see the need for us to still be in Afghanistan,” Rolph said. 

The war is estimated to have resulted in 35,000 to 40,000 civilian casualties in Afghanistan, 2,312 deaths of U.S. military personnel and 20,066 wounded American service members U.S. military operations in Afghanistan have cost $824.9 billion.

Although Rolph didn’t fully understand the magnitude of the war when her cousin was deployed, she still recalls the worry that her aunts and uncles felt. Rolph also said that her cousin was very dedicated to their positions in Afghanistan.

“They were happy to be home and with the family, but they felt like they could have still done more,” Rolph said. “The moment I remember the most is when we finally found out that they were able to come home and we were just relieved at the fact that they were safe.”

Leitz’s concerns regarding the state of affairs the U.S. will be leaving behind in Afghanistan are echoed by many Afghans, who particularly worry about the effect of disengagement from the war on women’s rights. Biden’s decision on the issue went against the recommendations of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and General Mark Milley, both of whom believe this is the wrong time to exit the nation. 

Leitz said the U.S. must hold some accountability in Afghanistan’s future and should invest in infrastructure and education to rebuild lives and societies in the Middle Eastern country. 

“I don’t hear anybody talking about how we have a responsibility for any of this,” Leitz said. “It’s as if we did our part and now we’re gone. We did our part to destroy a nation (and) we need to take a little responsibility here.”