Afghans speak out about troops withdrawal after last plane leaves

The full withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan has sparked sharp reaction from the public, including Taliban members, who have termed it a “great defeat for the US”.

One Kabul resident, a university lecturer, Bilal Ahmad Khater, said: “First of all we defeated the British, then the Soviet Union and (now) the US. It was an invasion that ended. It (the defeat) proves that democracy or capitalism or imperialism is not acceptable in Afghanistan.”

“The success is not related to the Islamic Emirate (Taliban), it is related to all Afghans. Afghanistan will be better after this,” said Katib Alikhail, a member of the Taliban.
According to many Kabul residents, the US and foreign forces have only done much harm to Afghanistan.

They say that Western countries divided Afghans and pitted them against each other.

“They (Western countries) did nothing for Afghanistan, but drove Afghans to kill each other,” said Shafiqullah, a Kabul resident.

Many Afghans say that the US came to Afghanistan to pursue personal interests and left behind a country in crisis.

“The US had a clear goal to divide people and youths. I saw 60 people killed in one night, all because of the US,” said Esmatullah, a resident of Kabul.

This comes after the last military aircraft left Afghanistan on Monday night – ending a 20 year presence in the country.