"Time To End Forever War": Joe Biden To Begin US Afghanistan Exit On May 1

But by pulling out without a clear victory, the United States opens itself to criticism that a withdrawal represents a de facto admission of failure for American military strategy.

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he will begin withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan on May 1 to end America's longest war, rejecting calls for US forces to stay to ensure a peaceful resolution to that nation's grinding internal conflict. In a White House speech, Biden acknowledged that US objectives in Afghanistan had become "increasingly unclear" over the past decade. He set a deadline for withdrawing all 2,500 U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan by Sept. 11, exactly 20 years after al Qaeda's attacks on the United States that triggered the war. But by pulling out without a clear victory, the United States opens itself to criticism that a withdrawal represents a de facto admission of failure for American military strategy. "It was never meant to be a multi-generational undertaking. We were attacked. We went to war with clear goals. We achieved those objectives," Biden said, noting that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by American forces in 2011 and saying that organization has been "degraded" in Afghanistan.