Taliban Holds Parade to Celebrate Anniversary of U.S. Exit from Afghanistan

The Taliban marked the first anniversary of the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan with their own military parade at Bagram Airfield, which was at one point America’s largest base in the country.

The group’s spokesman released videos on social media showing fighters marching in lockstep in Western-style uniforms followed by a convoy of armed vehicles that flew the Taliban’s black and white flag, according to the Washington Post.

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“We are gathered here to celebrate the first anniversary of the withdrawal,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman from the Taliban, told local media present at the event. “I am proud that our country was liberated on this day and American troops were forced to leave Afghanistan,” he said.

The final U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan exited on Aug. 30, 2021, nearly 20 years after an older generation of soldiers first entered the country in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil. They left with a similar situation as to when they arrived — with the Taliban in charge and ready to impose strict cultural and gender-based regulations on society.

The Taliban began a military offensive against the U.S.-supported government and military in early August of last year. They were met with little resistance and quickly overtook the country, forcing then-President Ashraf Ghani to flee by the middle of the month, which prompted the United States to launch what amounted to the largest military evacuation effort to date.

Roughly 120,000 people were evacuated during that final part of the withdrawal, though thousands of others, some of whom were likely targets of the Taliban for having worked with the U.S. military, were left behind.

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Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the Taliban’s acting prime minister, said the group was left with nothing when it assumed power last August, though the weapons it showed off at the parade showed what appeared to be equipment from U.S. and NATO forces.

“The foreigners took everything with them when they left and imposed sanctions on Afghanistan, which have resulted in poverty and hunger,” he said.

The Taliban have remained an unrecognized government by the Western world and have faced sanctions since their rise to power.