The US will continue to support Afghanistan after withdrawing all US troops, but not “militarily,” President Joe Biden has pledged. “It is time to end America’s longest war,” he said in a speech from the White House room where US airstrikes there were first declared in 2001.  The pull-out is to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terror attacks, officials say. At least 2,500 US troops are part of the 9,600-strong Nato Afghan mission. The number of US troops on the ground in Afghanistan fluctuates, and US media report the current total is closer to 3,500. US and Nato officials have said the Taliban, a hardline Islamist movement, have so far failed to live up to commitments to reduce violence in Afghanistan.(BBC)…[+]