US Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan 90% Complete
Voice of America
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD - The U.S. military troop withdrawal from Afghanistan is 90% complete, U.S. Central Command announced Tuesday.
The news comes days after U.S. and international forces left Bagram Airfield, which has served for nearly two decades as the center of the U.S. fight to remove Taliban forces from power and take down al-Qaida terrorists responsible for killing thousands of Americans on September 11, 2001. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby on Tuesday defended the military's recent pullout from Bagram, the execution of which had caused local Afghan commanders to express surprise at the departure and led to a security lapse that allowed looters onto the base. Kirby confirmed that the U.S. military withheld from its Afghan allies the specific time it would complete a withdrawal, citing "operational security," but said the departure "wasn't done in some shroud of secrecy."A man takes a photograph of the election results at the National Results Operation Centre of the IEC in Midrand, South Africa, June 2, 2024. African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, briefs the media on results of the elections at the Results Operation Centre in Midland, Johannesburg, June 2, 2024.
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People march during a rally in support of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his party in Budapest, Hungary, June 1, 2024. Orbán with 14 years in power is the European Union's longest serving leader. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán addresses people as they gather to support him and his party during a 'peace march' in Budapest, Hungary, June 1, 2024. People march during a rally in support of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his party in Budapest, Hungary, June 1, 2024.