U.S. War in Afghanistan Ends as Final Evacuation Flights Depart

The last U.S. military plane left Kabul Monday night, ending a presence that spanned two decades but failed to defeat the Taliban and left behind tens of thousands of Afghans.

The last United States forces left Afghanistan late Monday, ending a 20-year occupation that began shortly after the Al Qaeda attacks on 9/11, cost over $2 trillion, took more than 170,000 lives and ultimately failed to defeat the Taliban, the Islamist militants who allowed Al Qaeda to operate there. Five American C-17 cargo jets flew out of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul just before midnight, the officials said, completing a hasty evacuation that left behind tens of thousands of Afghans desperate to flee the country, including former members of the security forces and many who held valid visas to enter the United States. “A new chapter of America’s engagement with Afghanistan has begun,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said on Monday evening. “It’s one in which we will lead with our diplomacy. The military mission is over.”