US military retains authority to protect Afghan forces: Pentagon

The US military retains the authority to protect Afghan forces in the country, the Pentagon said.

According to Reuters, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the head of US forces in Afghanistan still had that authority, even as the US closes in on a military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He declined to say how long the US military would have the authority.

Kirby spoke as American troops pulled out of their main military base in Afghanistan, leaving behind a piece of the World Trade Center they buried 20 years ago in a country that the top US commander has warned may descend into civil war without them.

The brisk pace of the US withdrawal comes as the Taliban insurgency ramps up its offensive throughout the country while peace talks in Qatar have failed to make significant progress.

The Pentagon said the turnover of Bagram airbase to Afghan security forces was a “key milestone” in the withdrawal.

US President Joe Biden said the withdrawal is on track, but some American forces will still be in Afghanistan in September as part of a “rational drawdown with allies.”

Even so, the Bagram pullout brought an effective end to the longest war in US history.

The base, an hour’s drive north of Kabul, was where the US military coordinated its air war and logistical support for its entire Afghan mission. The Taliban thanked them for leaving.

“We consider this withdrawal a positive step. Afghans can get closer to stability and peace with the full withdrawal of foreign forces,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.

Other Afghans were more circumspect. “The Americans must leave Afghanistan and there should be peace in this country,” said Kabul resident Javed Arman.