US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Tuesday that the process of pulling troops out of Afghanistan was between two and six percent complete.
CENTCOM said in a press release that the military had moved about 60 C-17 cargo planes worth of material out of Afghanistan and turned over more than 1,300 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for destruction.
The release said the US had officially turned its military base at New Antonik to the Afghan National Army. CENTCOM is expected to provide weekly updates on the withdrawal process or “retrograde,” as it is called in the news release.
President Biden set the withdrawal deadline as September 11th, breaking the US-Taliban peace deal that called for all foreign forces to leave Afghanistan by May 1st, this past Saturday. Tolo News reported that the US and the Taliban are currently in talks about the possibility of finishing the withdrawal by early July.
While the pullout has begun, the US is planning to keep supporting the Afghan military when it is done, and questions remain about the presence of US contractors in the country. On Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said even though troops are leaving, the US is not “withdrawing” or “disengaging” from Afghanistan.
As our troops pull out, contractors (mercenaries) will settle in.