Hi there,

This month, Democracy Now! marks 29 years of fearless independent journalism. Presidents have come, gone and come back again, but Democracy Now! remains, playing the same critical role in our democracy: shining a spotlight on corporate and government abuses of power and raising up the voices of scholars, advocates, scientists, activists, artists and ordinary people working for a more peaceful and just world. If our journalism is important to you, please donate today in honor of our 29th anniversary. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much.

Democracy Now!

Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Taliban Celebrate as Last U.S. Troops Leave Afghanistan

HeadlineAug 31, 2021

The U.S. military has completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, bringing an official end to the longest war in U.S. history. Marine General Frank McKenzie said the last troops flew out of Kabul just before midnight local time in Kabul on Monday.

Gen. Frank McKenzie: “Tonight’s withdrawal signifies both the end of the military component of the evacuation but also the end of the nearly 20-year mission that began in Afghanistan shortly after September 11th, 2001.”

The Taliban and its supporters celebrated the U.S. withdrawal, setting off fireworks and firing tracer bullets into the night sky. The Taliban is now in full control of Afghanistan, including the Kabul international airport, which the U.S. used to evacuate over 120,000 people fleeing the Taliban over the past 17 days.

According to the Costs of War Project, the U.S. spent over $2.2 trillion in Afghanistan and Pakistan. By one count, over 170,000 people died in the fighting.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top