a warning for listeners. This podcast features stories about war, terrorism, and violence.

It's important to hear, but it can also be disturbing.

After two decades, the US was getting out. President Trump had negotiated a deal with the Taliban

promising a departure of US troops. In spring 2021, President Joe Biden let the whole world know

that he wasn't reversing course. American troops would be out of Afghanistan by the 20th

anniversary of 9-11. I'm now the fourth United States President to preside over American

troop presence in Afghanistan. I will not pass this responsibility onto a fifth.

After consulting closely with our allies and partners, I concluded that it's time to end America's

longest war. It's time for American troops to come home.

Journalist Matthew Aikens was covering the withdrawal for the New York Times. He had been reporting

from Afghanistan since 2008. He says, with the Americans leaving, nearly every Afghan he talked to

had no clue what was in store for them. Some who worked for the US government didn't even know

if they'd be able to get out. Others wondered what life would look like if the Afghan government

collapsed. So the clock was ticking. People were very anxious, very desperate to leave,

but still very few people had any sense at the end was that near.

Rumors of the Taliban's advance had been trickling into Kabul for months. Now they were closing

in on the capital city. Well, I think that the Afghan government was in denial that the Americans

were going to leave so quickly. The military was largely concerned with force protection,

with covering its own, but as it was leaving and that meant getting out as fast as possible.

And that took the Afghans by surprise, definitely.

As part of the evacuation effort, the Biden administration announced Operation Allies Refuge,

a plan to get at risk Afghans on flights out of the country. There was one group that was in

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