“Was it perfect? No, of course not ”: The US made mistakes with the Afghanistan withdrawal – Defense Secretary Austin now admits.
Washington DC – In a hearing in the US Senate on the Afghanistan * withdrawal, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin defended the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. But also admits mistakes in the evacuation mission *. “The Taliban had made it clear that their cooperation would end on September 1st,” Austin said at the hearing. The first two days of the military evacuation missions were very difficult. But they got the situation under control within 48 hours.
Austin also admitted that the extent of corruption and poor leadership on the Afghan side had not been recognized. Likewise, no one foresaw how much the agreement with the Taliban * would demoralize the Afghan armed forces.
US General Staff admits errors – the operation in Afghanistan was unsatisfactory
Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the USA *, also admitted misjudgments regarding the procedure. He also warned of a growing threat of terrorism. “It is clear and obvious that the war in Afghanistan did not end on the terms we wanted,” said Milley. There is a “very real possibility” that terrorist groups like Al Qaeda or the Islamic State (IS) could try to attack the USA from Afghanistan.
According to his own statements, Milley warned both then President Donald Trump * and his successor Joe Biden * of the dangers of a quick exit. He emphasized that he had already warned in autumn 2020 that withdrawing troops from Afghanistan too quickly could lead to a “complete takeover by the Taliban” or even to a civil war.
“Absolutely” did not see the sudden collapse of the Afghan army coming, Milley said. Secret services would have expected the Taliban to come to power in late autumn or winter at the earliest, and possibly not until next spring.
USA: 20 years of the war in Afghanistan – what remains?
The last US troops left Afghanistan at the end of August. This means that the international mission in the country ends after almost 20 years. The military evacuation missions were also suspended – evacuation missions in which dozens of Afghans and 13 US soldiers were killed in front of Kabul airport *.
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The Islamic State (IS), which is hostile to the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban took power in Kabul in mid-August. “The circumstances in August were far from ideal: extreme heat, a […] country without a government, a highly dynamic situation on the ground and a […] deadly terrorist threat,” said Austin. Work is still going on to enable Americans and Afghan local staff to leave the country. (Lukas Zigo) * fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Rubriklistenbild: © Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla/dpa/U.S. Marines
