When the terrorist attacks of “9/11” are about to mark their 20th anniversary, the withdrawal of American soldiers from Afghanistan will be complete.

In Iraq, the Middle Eastern arena where the Bush administration at the time sought to reorganize the region with military means, American troops will continue to be stationed - they are primarily intended to train Iraqi soldiers - but the combat mission will end at the end of the year.

This also expresses the “end of an era”: the fight against Islamist terrorism no longer has the same significance as it did years ago - hopefully this downgrade will not take revenge - the United States is withdrawing from its entanglements in this region.

And who is moving in?

America's withdrawal has a price

This is obvious in Iraq: Iran will try to expand its influence, also exercised through Shiite militias, in order to expand its position.

In Afghanistan there are several foreign interested parties who might be tempted to take advantage of the precarious security situation.

But it is above all the Taliban who are striving for control of the country, not least over the capital Kabul.

Washington's withdrawal, all too understandable given America's intervention fatigue, has a price. It will be paid by Afghans and Iraqis - and those countries that are likely to be confronted with new waves of refugees. As I said, an era is coming to an end. America has different priorities; among other things, they lie in the "reconstruction" of their own country.