WASHINGTON — Exactly how the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan is going depends in large measure upon who one asks.
The U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation told the House Oversight Committee said Thursday that things are going well.
"The withdrawal so far has taken place without significant incidents and we expect this to continue," said Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad. "However, we are prepared to respond forcefully if attacked and have made this very clear."
The Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense on Thursday told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the United States will work, even after it has departed, to ensure Afghanistan never again is a safe haven for terrorists.
"I think the President's decision reflects the fact that America's interests can best be served by completing and ending the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan," said David Helvey. "That does not mean that the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan concludes. We will continue to work with the Afghan government."
But some lawmakers are concerned that bad actors in the region will rise up once the U.S. is gone.
"We've invested a huge amount in Afghanistan, in terms of dollars, lives, tens of thousands of people wounded," said Sen Angus King (I-Maine). "And yet, here we are, on the brink of... it's debatable, we'll know in a year or so, if the Taliban re-take the country, and we're right back where we were in 2001."
Under questioning from Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Brigadier General Matthew Trollinger, Deputy Director of the Joint Staff, acknowledged that Iran could step into the void.
"I would assess that they would be opportunistic and looking for every opportunity to gain an advantage," he said.
President Joseph R. Biden has set a September 11 deadline for all U.S. military personnel and civilian contractors to be out.
Since 2001, American taxpayers have spent more than $824.9 billion on Afghanistan. 2,312 U.S. military members have been killed in action and 20,086 troops have been wounded.