The assumption that USA “Lost” the war they waged for 20 years in Afghanistan, made yesterday, Wednesday (29/9) the Chief of the General Staff of the US National Defense, General Mark Milli, during his testimony before a parliamentary committee, one month after the chaotic end of the US intervention in the country of Asia.
“It is clear and self-evident to all of us that the war in Afghanistan did not end on the terms we would have liked, as the Taliban are in power in Kabul “, said General Mili during a hearing before the House of Representatives, as broadcast by APE-MPE.
“Whenever something like a lost war happens – and it was, in the sense that we achieved our strategic goal of protecting America from al Qaeda, but it is certain that the final situation is very different from what we would like (…) whenever it happens. “There are many factors that explain this,” he said, noting that the “strategic failure” was “Consequence of a series of strategic decisions dating back to the distant past”.
He specifically referred to the missed opportunities to capture or kill the al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, shortly after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the invasion of Iraq in 2003 which meant the redeployment of large numbers of troops, Washington’s failure to prevent Pakistan from becoming a “safe haven” for the Taliban and the withdrawal military advisers to Afghan military units in recent years.
The US intervention, in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks, turned into a massive attempt to rebuild the country to prevent the Taliban from returning to power. But that is exactly what happened on August 15, following a lightning strike by Islamist insurgents.
The collapse of the Afghan army and government hastened the evacuation of US troops and Afghan civilians, who were marked by deadly attack of Islamic State jihadists at Kabul airport.
On Tuesday, top Pentagon officials admitted before the Senate that they underestimated how great the morale of the Afghan army was, after the agreement was signed in February 2020 by the government of then US President Donald Trump and the Taliban.
The agreement provided for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021 in exchange for security guarantees and the start of direct negotiations between the Islamist insurgents and the authorities in Kabul, something that had never happened before.
Despite the complete lack of tangible progress in the negotiations between the rival Afghan parties, Joe Biden decided to abide by the agreement, but postponed the deadline for the withdrawal of the US military until August 31.
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