BRUSSELS – President Joe Biden’s top national security aides are briefing NATO about U.S. plans to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet senior officials from the alliance’s 30 members on Wednesday to discuss how to coordinate the withdrawal of NATO forces in concert with the departure of the remaining American troops.
The coalition operation in Afghanistan has special resonance with NATO as its deployment marked the first time the alliance invoked its Article 5 mutual defense pact, which holds that an attack on one member is an attack on all.