US has ability to keep eye on any resurgence of al Qaeda in Afghanistan: Reuters

The White House on Thursday said that the United States has the ability to keep an eye on any resurgence of al Qaeda in Afghanistan without keeping a military footprint there a day after U.S. President Joe Biden said that he was pulling out U.S. forces after nearly 20 years of war.

“We believe we have the means to keep our eye on any terrorist threats or any sign of al Qaeda’s resurgence without having a persistent footprint on the ground,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters, quoted by Reuters.

This comes as US President Joe Biden on Wednesday night officially confirmed that American troops withdrawal from Afghanistan will start on May 1.

He said the withdrawal process would be finished by September 11 – the anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the United States.

Biden said: “It is time to end America’s longest war. It is time for American troops to come home from Afghanistan.”

He said the US will begin its withdrawal on May and that it will not be a “hasty rush to the exit.”

He stated that if the Taliban attacks, the US will defend itself and partners with “all the tools at our disposal.”