Summary
The final flight of American troops left Afghanistan just before midnight on what is now Tuesday, August 31, in Kabul, after 20 years of war. The U.S. airlifted more than 120,000 American civilians and Afghan allies from Kabul, but thousands of Afghans who wanted to leave were left behind, at least for now. And the deaths of Americans and Afghans last week haunt this exit. Jane Ferguson reports.
Five Facts
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Who
are the individuals and groups of people featured in this story?
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What
are some of the major challenges that the U.S. faced leaving Afghanistan?
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When
did the U.S. completely withdraw from Afghanistan?
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Where
in Afghanistan was most of the attention focused in the last couple of weeks?
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Why
did General McKenzie, Commander of U.S. Central Command, say about the timing and execution of the U.S. leaving Afghanistan when they did?
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How
many American service members were killed in the attack outside the Kabul airport? (see video below)? What do you notice about the service members who died in the attack? How many
Afghan people
were killed in the bombing, and how do many Afghan allies feel about the U.S.'s withdrawal?
Focus Questions
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How has the Afghanistan War impacted your life or someone you know?
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What does the U.S. government say the plans are to help the thousands of Afghan allies left behind in Afghanistan? What do you think should happen?
Media literacy:
Do you think the media coverage of the Afghanistan withdrawal has been fair and for the most part unbiased? How about the media's overall coverage of the Afghanistan War for the past two decades?
