Blinken makes surprise visit to Afghanistan after withdrawal announcement

Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Thursday, just hours after President Biden announced his commitment to pulling U.S. troops out of the country by the fall. 

Meeting with Afghan leaders in Kabul, Blinken reiterated the U.S. commitment to helping the government in the war-torn country succeed following the troop withdrawal, which Biden said would be complete by Sept. 11.

“I wanted to demonstrate with my visit the ongoing commitment of the United States to the Islamic Republic and the people of Afghanistan,” Blinken said, according to NBC News. “The partnership is changing, but the partnership is enduring.”

The State Department said in a statement that Blinken “made clear that the United States stands with Afghanistan and its people in support of a peaceful and prosperous future.”

“Secretary Blinken and [Afghan President Ashraf Ghani] discussed our shared investment in Afghanistan and the importance of preserving the gains of the last twenty years, especially in building a strong civil society and protecting the rights of women and girls,” the department added. “They also discussed counter-terrorism cooperation and our shared commitment to ensure al-Qa’ida never regains a foothold in Afghanistan.”

In remarks from the White House on Wednesday, Biden said it was time to end America’s longest war and promised not to hand the ongoing conflict off to his predecessor. 

“I believed that our presence in Afghanistan should be focused on the reason we went in the first place: to ensure Afghanistan would not be used as a base from which to attack our homeland again. We did that, we accomplished that objective,” Biden said. “I’ve concluded that it’s time to end America’s longest war. It’s time for American troops to come home.” 

The president insisted the war in Afghanistan “was never meant to be a multigenerational undertaking.” 

Ghani during Thursday’s meeting praised Biden’s decision.  

“Afghanistan’s proud security and defense forces are fully capable of defending its people and country, which they have been doing all along,” the Afghan president said. 

Some hawkish Republicans, however, have warned Biden’s plan to pull U.S. troops could create an opportunity for terrorist cells to expand in the country and lead to more threats against western nations. 

“A full withdrawal from Afghanistan is dumber than dirt and devilishly dangerous. President Biden will have, in essence, cancelled an insurance policy against another 9/11,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said this week. “A residual counterterrorism force would be an insurance policy against the rise of radical Islam in Afghanistan that could pave the way for another attack against our homeland or our allies.”

Mir Rahman Rahmani, the speaker of the Afghan Parliament, acknowledged those concerns this week. 

“It is possible that Afghanistan turns into another civil war or becomes a haven for international terrorist organizations,” Rahmani said during a recent speech, NBC News noted. “We expect the withdrawal to be conditions-based and dependent upon peace, security, and long-term stability; otherwise, history will repeat itself.” 

Morgan Chalfant contributed to this report, which was updated at 8:59 a.m.