The U.S. military has completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, bringing an official end to the longest war in U.S. history.
Kabul, August 31 (RHC)-- The U.S. military has completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, bringing an official end to the longest war in U.S. history. Marine General Frank McKenzie said the last troops flew out of Kabul just before midnight local time in Kabul on Monday.
Gen. Frank McKenzie: “Tonight’s withdrawal signifies both the end of the military component of the evacuation but also the end of the nearly 20-year mission that began in Afghanistan shortly after September 11th, 2001.”
The Taliban and its supporters celebrated the U.S. withdrawal, setting off fireworks and firing tracer bullets into the night sky. The Taliban is now in full control of Afghanistan, including the Kabul international airport, which the U.S. used to evacuate over 120,000 people fleeing the Taliban over the past 17 days.
According to the Costs of War Project, the U.S. spent over $2.2 trillion in Afghanistan and Pakistan. By one count, over 170,000 people died in the fighting.
