Blinken in Afghanistan to sell Biden troop withdrawal

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is making an unannounced visit to Afghanistan to sell Afghan leaders and a wary public on President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw all American troops from the country. Blinken met separately with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, his governing partner Abdullah Abdullah, and civic figures, to try to assure them that the United States remains committed to the country. The visit came a day after Biden announced that the remaining 2,500 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan would be coming home before the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that led to the U.S. invasion in 2001. NATO immediately followed suit, saying its roughly 7,000 non-American forces in Afghanistan would also be departing within a few months.