WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday released the following statement on the Biden administration’s announcement that all U.S. forces will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021:

“It’s past time for the American military presence in Afghanistan to end. President Biden’s decision to bring our remaining troops home from America’s longest war is the right one. More than 2,000 American lives have been lost – and tens of thousands of Americans wounded – fighting terrorists and insurgents and giving the government in Kabul an opportunity to succeed. After twenty years, it’s clear that our continued military presence will not deliver political stability to the country, and the Afghan people must decide their own future. In coordination with our allies and partners, we must execute an orderly withdrawal and begin to normalize our diplomatic and military relationship with Afghanistan. We don’t need a permanent U.S. military footprint in the country to effectively combat terrorism. I’m looking forward to working with the Biden administration to reshape our engagement in the region so we can better address security challenges after our withdrawal,” said Murphy.

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