A statement from the Afghan jihadist organization the Taliban condemned President Joe Biden on Thursday for delaying the withdrawal of American troops from the country, noting the administration of President Donald Trump agreed to leave the country by May 1, but Biden would keep troops there for another four months.
In remarks on Wednesday, Biden announced that all U. S. troops would leave Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the al-Qaeda attacks on the American homeland that initially prompted President George W. Bush to invade the country. The Taliban has close ties to al-Qaeda and American intelligence officials believed al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden may be hiding in Afghanistan at the time; U.S. forces ultimately found him in neighboring Pakistan.
Biden presented the withdrawal as a declaration he believed the war had gone on too long, without openly addressing that, had he not changed the deadline, U. S. troops would have left Afghanistan by May 1. In late 2020, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Doha, Qatar, to meet Taliban leaders in talks that resulted in an agreement: if the Taliban cut ties to international terrorist groups and stopped attacking U.S. forces, America would withdraw its troops by May 1.
He and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have also heavily emphasized that America would retain a strong presence in Afghanistan through civilian programs focused on humanitarian aid and development.
The Taliban’s statement in response to Biden emphasized the fact that, under Trump, America had made binding agreements with the group that included the May exit.
“This decision is a clear violation of the Doha Agreement and non-compliance with its commitments,” the Taliban said, referring to where the deal was brokered.
“As this agreement was signed in the presence of United Nations and representatives of numerous world countries and organizations, and is currently being breached by America,” the statement continued, “it is imperative that all countries and organizations that were witnesses to the signing of this agreement exert pressure on America to implement its commitments and withdraw all forces from Afghanistan by the specified date.”
The Taliban concluded suggesting it would return to attacking American troops between May 1 and September 11, which it had largely ceased doing as part of the Doha deal; it instead focused on killing Afghan forces.
“Now as the agreement is being breached by America, it in principle opens the way for the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate to take every necessary countermeasure, hence the American side will be held responsible for all future consequences, and not the Islamic Emirate,” the Taliban statement read, according to Afghanistan’s Tolo News.
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