Germany announced the end of its nearly year deployment in a statement and a series of tweets from the defense minister late Tuesday, shortly after the last plane carrying its troops had left Afghan airspace. Three transport aircraft landed at the Wunstorf air base in northern Germany on Wednesday afternoon.
The troops, wearing masks, lined up on the tarmac for a brief ceremony, but the military dispensed with a bigger reception because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ansgar Meyer, the last commander of the German contingent. But the top American general in Afghanistan gave a sobering assessment Tuesday , warning about the recent rapid loss of districts to the Taliban and cautioning the country could descend into civil war. The German pullout came amid a spate of withdrawals by European nations. Some 33, Polish troops have served in Afghanistan over the past 20 years.
Italy officially declared its mission in Afghanistan over in a statement Wednesday, with Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini paying tribute to the 53 Italians who died and who were injured over the past two decades. Troops from Denmark, Estonia and the Netherlands also returned home last week. The pullout is nearing its end as security in Afghanistan worsens.
Since May 1, when the withdrawal began, the Taliban have overrun district after district, including along major transportation routes. Afghanistan is the latest canvas on which that unease is projected. That unease is shared across capitals in Europe. Afghanistan has opened up new fault lines in NATO, but it likely will not be the thing that fully fractures it. Experts told me that the military withdrawal added to a growing skepticism of the United States, and its larger commitment to collaboration with allies.
Afghanistan has laid bare that many allies are reliant on the United States. And that has led to the question of whether Europeans now need to ease themselves off that reliance, and invest in and build their own security. But even if Europe does begin to rethink its own security, it is unlikely that Afghanistan will unravel the transatlantic relationship entirely.
And some experts were skeptical that Europe would really take steps to invest or build up its own security, separate from the United States and the transatlantic alliance. Tensions over Afghanistan are raw, but those grievances may not be long-lasting. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding.
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By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. It also belonged to US allies. President George W. Explainers The lofty goals and short life of the antiracist book club. Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for The Weeds Get our essential policy newsletter delivered Fridays.
Thanks for signing up! Check your inbox for a welcome email. The following year, at a meeting of defence ministers in November , RSM troop-contributing countries confirmed that the number of troops deployed would increase from around 13, to around 16, troops.
In February , the United States and the Taliban signed an agreement on the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan by May On 14 April , recognising that there is no military solution to the challenges Afghanistan faces, the Allies decided to start the withdrawal of RSM forces by 1 May The mission was terminated early September Get the latest updates.
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