The Pentagon announced that the last Americans to leave Kabul on Monday night were Ross Wilson, the United States Ambassador to Kabul, and General Chris Donahue, the ground commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The U.S. Central Command released a night photo of the last American officer to leave Afghanistan, stating, "General Chris Donahue is considered the last U.S. service member to depart Afghanistan." It added, "With Donahue's departure, the U.S. mission to evacuate American citizens and Afghan holders of special immigration visas, as well as vulnerable Afghans, has been completed."
Ending the 20-Year War
Additionally, General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, stated in a press conference that "on the last plane, there was General Chris Donahue" and "he was accompanied by Ambassador Ross Wilson," indicating they were the last to board the military aircraft that took off from Kabul, marking the end of a 20-year war.
The Final Flight
General McKenzie noted that "the last C-17 took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30" at 9:29 PM GMT. He continued, "While military evacuations have ended, the diplomatic mission to verify if there are more American citizens or eligible Afghans wishing to leave remains ongoing." He also explained that from August 14 to Monday night, over 123,000 civilians were evacuated from Kabul's airport by U.S. and allied aircraft over the past 18 days. With its withdrawal from Afghanistan, Washington has left the country in the hands of the Taliban, against whom the U.S. fought its longest war ever.
