BERLIN: Most European troops have already pulled out of Afghanistan, quietly withdrawing months before the US-led mission was officially expected to end — part of an anticlimactic close to the “forever war” that risks leaving the country on the brink of civil war.
Germany and Italy declared their missions in Afghanistan over on Wednesday and Poland’s last troops returned home, bringing their deployments to a low-key end nearly 20 years after the first Western soldiers were deployed there.
Announcements from several countries analyzed by The Associated Press show that a majority of European troops has now left with little ceremony — a stark contrast to the dramatic and public show of force and unity when NATO allies lined up to back the US invasion to rid the country of Al-Qaeda after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
In the ensuing decades, the war went from one mission to another. Former US President George W. Bush’s administration shied away from nation-building and the United Nations advocated a light footprint. But with the passing years, NATO and US troops took on greater roles developing Afghanistan’s National Security and Defense Forces and training police. At the war’s peak, the US and NATO military numbers surpassed 150,000.
NATO agreed in April to withdraw its roughly 7,000 non-American forces from Afghanistan to match US President Joe Biden’s decision to pull all American troops from the country, starting May 1.
Biden set a Sept. 11 deadline for the withdrawal of US troops. But more recently, American officials have said that pullout would most likely be completed by July 4 — and many allies have moved to wrap up their own presence by then as well.
NATO declined to give an update Wednesday on how many nations still have troops in its Resolute Support mission. But an analysis of governments’ own announcements shows that more than 4,100 of the non-American forces have left.
The US has refused to give troop figures, but when Biden announced the final pullout between 2,500 and 3,500 troops were deployed. The US has also refused to give a clear date for their final withdrawal.
Germany publicly announced the end of its nearly 20-year deployment in a statement and a series of tweets from the defense minister late Tuesday evening, shortly after the last plane carrying its troops had left Afghan airspace.
Three transport aircraft landed at the Wunstorf air base in northern Germany on Wednesday afternoon. The troops, wearing masks, lined up on the tarmac for a brief ceremony, but the military dispensed with a bigger reception because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have worked long and hard to stand here today,” said Brig. Gen. Ansgar Meyer, the last commander of the German contingent. “As your commander, I can say for you: ‘Mission accomplished.’ You have fulfilled your task.”
But the top American general in Afghanistan gave a sobering assessment Tuesday, warning about the recent rapid loss of districts to the Taliban and cautioning that the country could descend into civil war.
The German pullout came amid a spate of withdrawals by European nations. Poland’s last departing troops were greeted Wednesday by Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak. Some 33,000 Polish troops have served in Afghanistan over the past 20 years.
The last Italian troops from Italy’s base in Herat arrived at the military airport in Pisa late Tuesday. Italy officially declared its mission in Afghanistan over in a statement Wednesday, with Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini paying tribute to the 53 Italians who died, and 723 who were injured over the past two decades.
Going forward, Guerini said Italy’s commitment to Afghanistan would remain strong but in other forms, “beginning with the strengthening of development cooperation and support for Afghan institutions.”
Georgia’s last troops returned home on Monday, while Romania brought home its remaining 140 troops on Saturday, when Norway also pulled out. Troops from Denmark, Estonia and the Netherlands also returned home last week. Spain withdrew its last troops on May 13, Sweden on May 25, and Belgium on June 14. The small contingents deployed by Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Finland and Albania have all left as well.
The pullout is nearing its end as security in Afghanistan worsens. Since May 1, when the withdrawal began, the Taliban have overrun district after district, including key ones along major transportation routes. Many have fallen after Afghan soldiers surrendered, often being convinced to leave their post by elders. But elsewhere there have been bitter military battles, with Afghan troops sometimes losing when their positions could not be resupplied.
The US military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austen S. Miller, meanwhile, expressed concern about the resurrection of militias, which were deployed to help the beleaguered national security forces but have a brutal reputation for widespread killing.
“A civil war is certainly a path that can be visualized if this continues on the trajectory it’s on right now, that should be of concern to the world,” he said.
At a ceremony last week to mark the official end of the Dutch deployment, Dutch Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld-Schouten underscored the uncertain outlook.
“We see reports of the rise of the Taliban, growing violence, also in areas where we were stationed,” she said. “A lot has been achieved but we must be realistic: The results are not irreversible.”
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Most European troops exit Afghanistan quietly after 20 years
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Most European troops exit Afghanistan quietly after 20 years
- Germany and Italy declared their missions in Afghanistan over on Wednesday and Poland's last troops returned home
- Majority of European troops has now left with little ceremony
Pentagon foresees ‘more limited’ role in deterring North Korea
- South Korea hosts about 28,500 US troops in combined defense against North Korea’s military threat
- In recent years, US officials have signaled a desire to make US forces in South Korea more flexible
The Pentagon foresees a “more limited” role in deterring North Korea, with South Korea taking primary responsibility for the task, according to a policy document released on Friday, a move that could lead to a reduction of US forces on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea hosts about 28,500 US troops in combined defense against North Korea’s military threat and Seoul has raised its defense budget by 7.5 percent for this year.
“South Korea is capable of taking primary responsibility for deterring North Korea with critical but more limited US support,” the Pentagon said in the 25-page National Defense Strategy document that guides its policies.
“This shift in the balance of responsibility is consistent with America’s interest in updating US force posture on the Korean Peninsula.”
In recent years, US officials have signaled a desire to make US forces in South Korea more flexible, to potentially operate outside the Korean Peninsula in response to a broader range of threats, such as in defending Taiwan and checking China’s growing military reach.
South Korea has resisted the idea of shifting the role of US troops, but has worked to grow its defense capabilities in the past 20 years, with the goal of being able to take on the wartime command of combined US and South Korean forces. South Korea has 450,000 troops.
The Pentagon’s top policy official, Elbridge Colby, is due to travel to Asia next week and is expected to visit South Korea, a US official said.
The wide-ranging document, which each new administration publishes, said the Pentagon’s priority was defending the homeland. In the Indo-Pacific region, the document said, the Pentagon was focused on ensuring that China could not dominate the United States or US allies.
“This does not require regime change or some other existential struggle. Rather, a decent peace, on terms favorable to Americans but that China can also accept and live under, is possible,” the document said, without mentioning Taiwan by name.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says only the people of Taiwan can decide their future.
The Pentagon document is based on US President Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy, published last year, which said the United States will reassert its dominance in the Western Hemisphere, build military strength in the Indo-Pacific, and possibly reassess its relationship with Europe.
Iran seeks to rebuild military
President Trump said on Thursday the United States has an “armada” heading toward Iran but that he hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program.
The deployments to the Middle East expand the options available to Trump, both to better defend US forces in the region at a moment of high tension and to take any additional military action after striking Iranian nuclear sites in June.
The Pentagon document said that while Iran had suffered setbacks in recent months, it was aiming to rebuild its military, with Tehran leaving open the possibility that it could “try again to obtain a nuclear weapon.”
Even with US troops heading to the region, the document said Israel was a “model ally” and could be further empowered to defend itself. The United States has had a sometimes strained relationship with Israel over its war in Gaza.
US to remain engaged in Europe
Trump’s National Security Strategy from last year drew an outcry from Europeans after it said that Europe faced “civilizational erasure” and may one day lose its status as a reliable US ally.
The Trump administration is putting pressure on Kyiv to reach a peace deal in the war triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, with Moscow demanding Kyiv cede its entire eastern industrial area of Donbas before it stops fighting.
The Pentagon’s strategy document was more measured on European allies, saying that while the United States would remain engaged in Europe it would prioritize defending the United States and deterring China.
It said that Russia would remain a “persistent but manageable” threat for NATO’s eastern members, and that the Pentagon would provide Trump with options to “guarantee US military and commercial access to key terrain” in different parts of the world, including in Greenland.
Trump said earlier this week he had secured total and permanent US access to Greenland in a deal with NATO, whose head said allies would have to step up their commitment to Arctic security to ward off threats from Russia and China.
South Korea hosts about 28,500 US troops in combined defense against North Korea’s military threat and Seoul has raised its defense budget by 7.5 percent for this year.
“South Korea is capable of taking primary responsibility for deterring North Korea with critical but more limited US support,” the Pentagon said in the 25-page National Defense Strategy document that guides its policies.
“This shift in the balance of responsibility is consistent with America’s interest in updating US force posture on the Korean Peninsula.”
In recent years, US officials have signaled a desire to make US forces in South Korea more flexible, to potentially operate outside the Korean Peninsula in response to a broader range of threats, such as in defending Taiwan and checking China’s growing military reach.
South Korea has resisted the idea of shifting the role of US troops, but has worked to grow its defense capabilities in the past 20 years, with the goal of being able to take on the wartime command of combined US and South Korean forces. South Korea has 450,000 troops.
The Pentagon’s top policy official, Elbridge Colby, is due to travel to Asia next week and is expected to visit South Korea, a US official said.
The wide-ranging document, which each new administration publishes, said the Pentagon’s priority was defending the homeland. In the Indo-Pacific region, the document said, the Pentagon was focused on ensuring that China could not dominate the United States or US allies.
“This does not require regime change or some other existential struggle. Rather, a decent peace, on terms favorable to Americans but that China can also accept and live under, is possible,” the document said, without mentioning Taiwan by name.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says only the people of Taiwan can decide their future.
The Pentagon document is based on US President Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy, published last year, which said the United States will reassert its dominance in the Western Hemisphere, build military strength in the Indo-Pacific, and possibly reassess its relationship with Europe.
Iran seeks to rebuild military
President Trump said on Thursday the United States has an “armada” heading toward Iran but that he hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program.
The deployments to the Middle East expand the options available to Trump, both to better defend US forces in the region at a moment of high tension and to take any additional military action after striking Iranian nuclear sites in June.
The Pentagon document said that while Iran had suffered setbacks in recent months, it was aiming to rebuild its military, with Tehran leaving open the possibility that it could “try again to obtain a nuclear weapon.”
Even with US troops heading to the region, the document said Israel was a “model ally” and could be further empowered to defend itself. The United States has had a sometimes strained relationship with Israel over its war in Gaza.
US to remain engaged in Europe
Trump’s National Security Strategy from last year drew an outcry from Europeans after it said that Europe faced “civilizational erasure” and may one day lose its status as a reliable US ally.
The Trump administration is putting pressure on Kyiv to reach a peace deal in the war triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, with Moscow demanding Kyiv cede its entire eastern industrial area of Donbas before it stops fighting.
The Pentagon’s strategy document was more measured on European allies, saying that while the United States would remain engaged in Europe it would prioritize defending the United States and deterring China.
It said that Russia would remain a “persistent but manageable” threat for NATO’s eastern members, and that the Pentagon would provide Trump with options to “guarantee US military and commercial access to key terrain” in different parts of the world, including in Greenland.
Trump said earlier this week he had secured total and permanent US access to Greenland in a deal with NATO, whose head said allies would have to step up their commitment to Arctic security to ward off threats from Russia and China.
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