WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — President Joe Biden on Thursday is expected to offer his most extensive comments to date about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, a pullout that is raising concerns about a war there and drawing criticism.
A White House official said Biden would update the country on the situation but that no major policy announcements were expected.
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Biden has been under pressure from critics to give a more expansive explanation for his decision to withdraw.
The United States last weekend abandoned Bagram air base, the longtime staging ground for U.S. military operations in the country, effectively ending America’s longest war. The Pentagon says the withdrawal of U.S. forces is 90% complete.
Washington agreed to withdraw in a deal negotiated last year under former President Donald Trump. Biden overruled military leaders who wanted to keep a larger presence to assist Afghan security forces and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a staging ground for extremist groups.
Instead, the United States plans to leave 650 troops in Afghanistan to provide security for the U.S. Embassy.
Biden’s order in April to pull out U.S. forces by Sept. 11 after 20 years of conflict has coincided with major gains by the Islamist militant Taliban movement against overwhelmed Afghan forces after peace talks sputtered.
Gen. Austin Miller, the commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, warned last week that the country may be headed toward civil war.
The intelligence community believes the Afghan military is weak and that the Kabul government’s prospects for survival in the short term are not good, said U.S. government sources familiar with assessments.
Biden’s administration is also grappling with its plan for expedited visas for Afghan people most at risk of being attacked by the Taliban, including translators who worked with foreign forces. Rights groups are pushing to add up to 2,000 vulnerable women to the list, and Biden is expected to mention women’s rights in his remarks.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Biden would meet his national security team ahead of his remarks on Thursday “to receive a periodic update on the progress of our military drawdown from Afghanistan.”
“The president will make comments on our continued drawdown efforts and ongoing security and humanitarian assistance to the ANDSF and the Afghan people,” she said, referring to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.
Some Republicans are criticizing Biden for the pullout, although Trump had also sought to end American involvement in the war.
Biden met Afghan leaders at the White House on June 25 and said U.S. support for Afghanistan would continue despite the pullout.
“Afghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want,” he said at the time.
This comes as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced most British troops have been pulled out of Afghanistan ending its official role in the conflict.
British forces were first deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 following the September 11 attacks and played a major role in combat operations until 2014. A total of 457 British soldiers were killed in the country.
All British troops assigned to NATO’s mission in Afghanistan are now returning home,” Johnson said in a statement to parliament.
“For obvious reasons, I will not disclose the timetable of our departure, though I can tell the house (parliament) that most of our personnel have already left.”
Johnson outlined the change to Britain’s presence in Afghanistan, saying he did not underestimate the challenges facing the country and the government would continue to provide development assistance.
“I hope no one will leap to the false conclusion that the withdrawal of our forces somehow means the end of Britain’s commitment to Afghanistan, we are not about to turn away, nor are we under any illusions about the perils of today situation and what might lie ahead,” Johnson told parliament.
All reporting by Reuters. Reuters contributed to this report.
