Three things for April 14
1. Biden plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11
President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he plans to withdraw all U.S. Armed Forces from the Afghanistan conflict by Sept. 11 this year. This date marks the twentieth anniversary of Al Qaeda’s attacks on U.S. soil in 2001.
During Biden’s campaign, particularly at the Democratic National Convention, he asserted on numerous occasions the military conflict has gone on too long and that it is time for U.S. service members to be brought stateside.
“I would bring American combat troops in Afghanistan home during my first term. Any residual U.S. military presence in Afghanistan would be focused only on counterterrorism operations,” Biden said, “Americans are rightly weary of our longest war; I am, too. But we must end the war responsibly, in a manner that ensures we both guard against threats to our Homeland and never have to go back.”
During the last three presidencies, there have been promises of withdrawing American troops from the conflict in Afghanistan, but each presidency has failed to do so.
During the Obama administration, the number of troops in Afghanistan was expanded from what they were in the previous presidency. In 2011, troops in Afghanistan exceeded 100,000, up from 30,000 at the beginning of the year. By the end of his presidency, there were 8,500 troops left in Afghanistan.
As of October 2019, there were 13,000 service members still in Afghanistan.
2. Johnson & Johnson vaccine administration paused in numerous locations
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine administration remains paused in many locales, following a series of cases where women under 50 developed rare blood clots.
The Food and Drug Administration use vaccine sites to temporarily pause usage of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while the situation is assessed.
The FDA encourages those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the last three weeks to be vigilant concerning signs of blood clotting. Anyone in that population who develops cramping in their legs, unusual headaches, sudden breathlessness, sharp chest pains or other side effects of a blood clot, should contact their primary care physician.
3. Former Secretary of Defense calls for deployment along Black Sea
Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has called for the deployment of more troops to Romania and Bulgaria to stunt potential Russian aggressions.
Esper states troops should be sent “into the Baltic’s, if it makes sense, and places like Romania and Bulgaria, if not on a permanent, then on a rotational basis.”
Tensions have been mounting between the U.S. and Russia in recent months, and Esper is concerned that this could lead to an increase in Russian aggression against neighboring countries.
There has been an increase in fighting in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks due to Russia’s increased military presence on the border.
There have been approximately 14,000 deaths in the Russian-Ukraine conflict in the last seven years.
