US General Milley: There was no indication that Afghanistan would fall so fast – SME.sk

WASHINGTON. US Chief and Chief of Staff Mark Milley on Wednesday defended the US military’s response to the fundamentally rapid takeover of power in Afghanistan by the fundamentalist Taliban movement, arguing that no one expected such a rapid fall from US-trained Afghan forces.

The AFP news agency informed about it.

“Nothing I or anyone else would see indicated that this army and government would fall in 11 days. The Afghan security forces had the capacity, and by that I mean they had the training, size and ability to defend their country. about the problem of will and leadership, “Milley said of the current situation in Afghanistan.

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US Army and US President’s Administration Joe Biden facing domestic political attacks over the Taliban’s defeat of Afghan forces with minimal fighting, as well as the collapse of the US-backed government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani last week, who fled the country.

The development of the situation in Afghanistan surprised the US government and launched a rapid evacuation of Americans and Afghans, who received special visas for their work for American forces. About 5,000 US troops have arrived at Kabul International Airport since Saturday to help thousands of people suddenly leave Afghanistan.

If necessary, they will stay longer

Critics accuse the State Department, the Secret Service and the Pentagon of not anticipating the debacle and preparing rather for the evacuation of more than 10,000 American citizens.

US troops will not leave any fellow citizens at the mercy of the aggravated situation in Afghanistan, even if this means that they will remain in Taliban-controlled Kabul longer than planned. This was announced on Wednesday by Biden, quoted by the AFP news agency.

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U.S. leaders say they are adhering to August 31 as the deadline for their last troops to leave Afghanistan, leaving power to the victorious Islamist movement Taliban. However, for the first time, Biden suggested that US troops could stay there longer if some Americans were still trying to flee the country.

“If there are still American citizens, we will stay to get them all away,” Biden said. The president further warned that the “chaos” that accompanies the panicked departure of foreigners and Afghan allies from Kabul is inevitable. “I can’t imagine a way to get out of there without chaos,” he said.

The Taliban are helping to expel foreigners

The Taliban are currently standing sideways and are not obstructing US troops arriving at Kabul International Airport to help evacuate.

However, militants have complete control over the rest of the city and decide who gets there, while foreign forces have a very limited ability to maneuver safely outside the airport.

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In an interview with ABC News, Biden added that the Taliban are helping American forces to expel foreign nationals.

“They are cooperating, letting American citizens go, as well as embassy staff,” the White House chief said, adding that only Afghans who worked for the allies were a problem.

Biden rejected the criticism

Former head of the US Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) counter-terrorism division for South Asia and later Adviser Biden, Douglas London said during his election campaign, the US secret services predicted that the Taliban would defeat Afghan forces and the government capitulated within days.

These estimates were “emphasized” by an official former president last year Donald Trump, as well as future Biden officials, says Douglas London, according to AFP.

At the same time, the president rejected criticism that the US secret services had made a mistake in connection with the fall of Afghanistan. “It was an easy choice,” said the White House chief. In his own words, he is convinced that the planned departure of the US military must continue despite the surrender of the Western-backed Afghan government.