# US withdrawal from Afghanistan

### Withdrawal decisions, the Kabul evacuation and Taliban restoration

The United States signed the Doha agreement with the Taliban on February 29, 2020, committing to a timetable for the removal of foreign forces while the Afghan government was not a party to the agreement. The arrangement followed almost two decades of war and sought Taliban commitments on preventing terrorist threats. Critics argued that excluding the elected Afghan government weakened its bargaining position and increased the Taliban's leverage. The new US administration under [President Joe Biden](/people/env-person-joe-biden) announced on April 14, 2021, that the remaining American military presence would end that year. The decision triggered wider debate over whether a sustained foreign deployment could provide a durable alternative to withdrawal.

In May 2021, the Taliban expanded attacks against government-controlled territory as foreign troops departed. Provincial centers fell in quick succession during the summer, exposing weak Afghan military logistics, political fragmentation and dependence on outside contractors. On August 15, 2021, Taliban forces entered Kabul as President Ashraf Ghani fled, and the republic's government collapsed. Foreign diplomats and thousands of Afghans then rushed toward [Hamid Karzai](/people/hamid-karzai) International Airport. The abrupt restoration of [Taliban rule](/drivers/afghanistan-taliban-rule) transformed the lives of women, journalists, civil servants, former military personnel and communities fearful of retaliation.

The United States and allied militaries organized a major evacuation through Kabul airport during the second half of August. Crowds gathered at access gates, while officials struggled to screen passengers and identify people eligible to leave. On August 26, an Islamic State affiliate carried out a suicide bombing at the airport's Abbey Gate area, killing 13 US service members and many Afghans. The attack underscored continuing [terrorist activity](/drivers/terrorist-activity) during the transition and the extraordinary exposure of civilians waiting outside defended perimeters. Military operations were directed toward an evacuation deadline rather than stabilization of the country, and people with documented risks remained unable to secure passage.

On August 30, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced completion of the removal of US forces and the military evacuation. General Kenneth McKenzie said the last military transport had left Kabul that day. On August 31, Biden described the end of America's longest war and stated that more than 120,000 people had been evacuated. The figures reflect a large multinational airlift and should not be equated with the total number of Afghans who needed protection. Thousands of people connected to the former government, international organizations and independent journalism faced an uncertain future. The shock of Kabul's fall also intensified [forced displacement](/drivers/forced-displacement-scale), both within Afghanistan and toward neighboring countries.

On April 6, 2023, Secretary of State [Antony Blinken](/people/sec-antony-blinken) released a statement accompanying the State Department's after-action review. The review examined operational choices from January 2020 through August 2021 and described lessons for contingency planning and crisis response. US officials defended withdrawal as a necessary end to an unwinnable military mission while acknowledging serious evacuation problems. Critics focused on the exclusion of Afghan partners from negotiations, the pace of the final military departure and the difficulty of anticipating Kabul's sudden collapse. NATO partners also faced questions about consultation, evacuation coordination and [military-alliance cohesion](/drivers/military-alliance-cohesion). Ending an open-ended foreign occupation brought US combat deployment to a close, but the simultaneous collapse of Afghan institutions and Taliban takeover carried deep costs for civil rights, security and the population's freedom to move.

## Dated facts

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## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/drivers/us-withdrawal-from-afghanistan