To United States general in Afghanistan resigned from his role Monday, as Taliban troops continue to gain control across the country. The Biden government said that the official end date of the American troops’ removal would be 31st August, but General Austin Miller’s resigning of command was a symbolic end to the troop withdrawal.

During a brief ceremony at the top American military headquarters in Kabul, Miller said that the Afghan people would be on his mind and in his heart for the rest of his life. General Frank McKenzie, the United States Central Command chief, arrived in Kabul early Monday and took command of the remaining forces.

According to U.S. Central Command, the evacuation is over ninety percent complete. Most of the American troops left. They transferred the equipment to their home country, with less than one thousand troops remaining to protect the American Embassy in Afghanistan and help secure the Kabul International Airport.

McKenzie already had the authority over United States military operations in Afghanistan and many other neighboring countries as head of CENTCOM, and he will continue his oversight from his headquarters in the U.S. At the same time, Rear Admiral Peter Vasely, the two-star officer, helps direct the mission on the ground.

The longest-serving senior U.S. Military Officer in Afghanistan

Furthermore, Miller was the longest-serving senior United States military officer who served on the land of Afghanistan during the war. He served for around three of the approximately twenty years of American military involvement, administrating the drawdown after the 2020 deal of Trump government with the Taliban and the final removal called for by current U.S. President Joe Biden in April.

At the transfer of command ceremony, Miller said that he believes that it is very apt to remember the sacrifice as he leaves Afghanistan. He also acknowledged all American troops, Afghans, and international service members, as well as civilians who lost their lives in the Afghan war. American military initially entered Afghanistan in 2001 to overrun bases where al-Qaeda group trained its fighters to launch the 11th September 2001 hijacked airliner attacks against the U.S. that killed almost three thousand people.

McKenzie will still support the Afghan administration with United States airstrikes through the August end against the Taliban troops, who tumbled in 2001 for protecting al-Qaida. However, after the competition of the withdrawal process, United States airstrikes in Afghanistan will exclusively support counterterrorism operations against the Taliban. In addition, the American military will continue to aid the Afghan military financially and by aircraft maintenance support from outside Afghanistan.

Taliban Claimed they Control 85% of Afghanistan

Taliban fighters say they already control eighty-five percent of Afghanistan. However, since the official pull-out start on 1st May, the Taliban captured almost triple the number of districts, from around seventy-five to now over two hundred and ten of the country’s districts. On Sunday, John Kirby, the Pentagon Press Secretary, told Fox News Sunday that the United States is watching with deep concern as Taliban troops take control of several territories in Afghanistan while American forces are speedily returning home under the withdrawal orders of Biden.

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