Latest News
Afghan crisis a ‘culmination of poor decision-making’ by 3 administrations: Menendez
US Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday the “tragic events of this past summer (in Afghanistan) were the culmination of poor decision-making by both Republican and Democratic administrations, going back to 2001”.
In a full Committee hearing entitled “Afghanistan 2001-2021: U.S. Policy Lessons Learned,” Menendez said only a full accounting of the situation will help the US avoid making the same mistakes in the future.
“We owe it to the American people. We owe it to our troops. We owe it to those in the public and non-profit sectors who dedicated years of their lives to improve Afghan democracy and governance. And we owe it to the people of Afghanistan – women and girls, religious and ethnic minorities – who are most affected by our departure,” he said.
According to Menendez, the United States struggled to enact a coherent strategy that would secure Afghan democracy and build strong governing institutions.
He said in his view a number of mistakes had been made.
First, the Bush Administration took its eye off the ball when it invaded Iraq, diverting desperately needed troops, equipment, and humanitarian assistance away from Afghanistan, he said.
“Those resources could have made a difference in preventing the resurgence of the Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) and building up Afghan governing institutions in their infancy.”
Second, the Obama Administration adopted a failed counterinsurgency strategy after taking office, he said.
“More than 33,000 troops were surged into Afghanistan but given an extremely short time frame, just 18 months, to prepare the Afghan government to take full control. That withdrawal date was repeatedly delayed as the weaknesses of Afghan institutions and security forces became all too clear” he said.
“Throughout the war, every administration also unfortunately bought into the fiction that Pakistan would be a partner in peace in Afghanistan. Instead, Islamabad played a double game, continuing to provide shelter to the Taliban (IEA) even as militants targeted and killed US troops,”
Third, the Trump Administration signed a surrender deal with the IEA “that set the stage for our precipitous withdrawal”.
“That deal was built on a set of lies, chief among them that the Taliban (IEA) would sever their connection with al-Qaeda,” he said adding that throughout the negotiations, the Trump administration excluded the Afghan government and kept secret the details of its agreement from the US’ closest allies.
“And finally, throughout the entire war, the executive branch failed to keep Congress adequately informed, particularly when the war was going poorly. Officials of both parties either misled or misrepresented the facts to Congress,” Menendez said.
According to him the executive branch told Congress that Afghan security forces could assume full responsibility for Afghanistan’s security; that the Afghan government was taking corruption seriously and gaining legitimacy in the provinces; and that regional actors like Pakistan were playing a helpful role with respect to the IEA.
Latest News
Girls’ education is a ‘vital issue’ for Afghanistan: Karzai
Former president Hamid Karzai said in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador and special representative, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, that education of girls was a “vital issue” for Afghanistan.
Karzai said he appreciated Iran’s cooperation and its standing with the Afghan people, especially Iran’s contributions to education in Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Karzai said peace and stability in the region are in the interest of all regional countries.
Latest News
Uzbekistan’s humanitarian aid arrives in Balkh
A shipment of humanitarian aid from Uzbekistan was handed over on Thursday to the local officials of Balkh province in the trade port of Hairatan.
Local authorities said the aid, which includes flour, oil, wheat, sugar and meat, has been handed over by Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya governor to the governor of Balkh.
The governor of Surkhandarya stated the purpose of sending this aid was to support the people of Afghanistan and stressed the need for the development of good relations between the two countries.
Latest News
Afghanistan’s problems caused more damage to Pakistan than 3 wars with India: Durrani
Islamabad’s special envoy for Afghanistan Asif Durrani said on Wednesday that Pakistan has suffered more due to Afghanistan’s internal situation than Pakistan has suffered in three wars with India in terms of blood spilt and finances drained.
Durrani said at a one-day International Conference titled “Pakistan in the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape”, which was organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), that over 80,000 Pakistanis died in the two decades of the War on Terror and that his country was still counting its dead and injured.
“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was hoped that peace in Afghanistan would bring peace to the region. However, such expectations were short-lived,” he said.
He also stated that attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group on Pakistan’s border areas increased by 65 percent, while suicide attacks increased by 500 percent.
“The TTP’s enhanced attacks on Pakistan while using Afghan soil have been a serious concern for Pakistan. Another worrying aspect is the participation of Afghan nationals in these attacks,” he said.
Durrani also said Pakistan had suffered geopolitically since the Soviet Union invaded the neighboring country.
“The post-9/11 world order has negatively impacted Pakistan. Apart from losing 80,000 citizens’ lives, including 8,000 law enforcement agency personnel, the country’s economic opportunity cost is estimated at $150 billion,” Durrani said.
Talking about the future outlook for Pakistan in the regional context, Durrani said that while “our eastern neighbor is likely to continue with its anti-Pakistan pursuits, the western border poses an avoidable irritant in the short to medium term.”
However, he said Pakistan can overcome its difficulties with Afghanistan, including the TTP challenge.
-
Latest News5 days ago
Pakistan’s frontiers minister stresses ‘dignified’ return of Afghan refugees
-
Latest News3 days ago
Rashid Khan named AWCC’s brand ambassador
-
Regional3 days ago
Iranian president lands in Pakistan for three-day visit to mend ties
-
Climate Change4 days ago
Massive river flooding expected in China, threatening millions
-
Latest News5 days ago
Chinese keen to invest in Panjshir-Kabul water conduit project
-
World5 days ago
Two Japan navy helicopters crash, one body found, 7 missing
-
Sport4 days ago
Kolkata beat Bengaluru by one run in IPL as Kohli fumes at dismissal
-
Sport4 days ago
ACL: Aino Mina 3-0 Istiqlal Kabul; Attack Energy 3-0 Khadim