US President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that his administration is withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan beginning May 1.

“We will not conduct a hasty rush to the exit. We’ll do it—we’ll do it responsibly, deliberately, and safely. And we will do it in full coordination with our allies and partners, who now have more forces in Afghanistan than we do,” he said.

He said that the terror threat has become dispersed and pointed to al-Shabaab in Somalia, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Nusra in Syria, ISIS’ attempt to create a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, and ISIS affiliates in Africa and Asia. 

He further noted that keeping troops concentrated in Afghanistan costs “billions each year.” Although Biden will be withdrawing troops, he stated his continued support for US involvement in humanitarian work in the country as well as support for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.

“We went to Afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago. That cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021,” he concluded.