US soldiers stand guard at Kabul airport on August 20, 2021, with people lining up to board a C-17 transport plane in the distance. Photo: VnExpress

The war in Afghanistan is considered the longest war in American history. The administration of President Joe Biden affirmed that the US withdrew all troops because it had achieved its goals when sending troops to Afghanistan, which were to weaken the international terrorist network Al-Qaeda and prevent attacks similar to the tragedy of September 11, 2001 against the US. The US withdrawal from Afghanistan shocked the American people and Washington's allies when the Taliban quickly defeated the forces of the Western-backed Kabul government in just a few weeks, forcing the US to carry out the largest airlift operation in history to evacuate more than 120,000 US citizens, allies and Afghans from the Southwest Asian country in just a few days. According to the results of a survey conducted by Gallup a year after the US withdrew from Afghanistan, 50% of Americans said that this war was a mistake.

AN NGUYEN