KABUL, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Local observers describe the U.S.-led war on terror in Afghanistan as a “failure” and they say, the upcoming troops withdrawal marks a “clear defeat” of the United States and the U.S.-led coalition forces in the Afghan war.
“No doubt, it is clear defeat of the U.S.-led coalition forces in the Afghan war, as both the Taliban and al-Qaeda network and like-minded militant groups are still active and operational in Afghanistan,” political analyst, Nazari Pariani, said, yesterday.
U.S. President, Joe Biden, announced, the U.S. and NATO troops will begin to pull out from Afghanistan from May 1, and that the withdrawal will be completed by Sept 11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
There are roughly 3,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and about 7,000 NATO troops in the country, relying on U.S. logistics and security support.
The United States invaded Afghanistan and dethroned the Taliban regime, which is accused of providing shelter to former al-Qaeda network chief, Osama Bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Thousands of the U.S.-led forces and countless Afghans, including civilians, security personnel and Taliban militants have been killed, in the so-called war on terror, but the outcome, Pariani said, is zero, as the brutal fighting has been continuing, claiming lives every day.
“The U.S. labeled both the Taliban and al-Qaeda as terrorist groups, 20 years ago and invaded Afghanistan to destroy the terrorists’ havens, but after 20 years, the U.S. has taken a U turn and given recognition to the Taliban outfit as a political force and inked a peace agreement with the group, in order to pull out its troops from Afghanistan,” Pariani observed.
The renowned political analyst, who is also editor-in-chief of the popular daily newspaper, Mandegar, said, he believes that the United States will have to do its best to keep a minimum military and intelligence presence in Afghanistan or its neighbouring countries in Central Asia.
“The failure of the U.S. in the war on terror can be gauged from that, in 2001, there were only the Taliban and al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan, but presently (there are) more than 20 terrorist groups,” Pariani said.
Retired army general, Atequllah Amarkhil, who is a political and military analyst, also observed that the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan has led to the emergence of more terrorist groups and the continuation of war in the Asian country.
“Before the U.S. invasion of the Taliban in Afghanistan, there were al-Qaeda and the host Taliban hierarchy, but currently several terrorist groups, such as Islamic State, Jandullah, Al-Jihad, Lashkar-e-Tyeba and a few more are fighting in Afghanistan, which clearly speaks of the U.S. failure in the war against radical groups,” he said.– NNN-AGENCIES
