Opmars Taliban in Afghanistan na aftocht NAVO troepen

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Formal start of final phase of Afghan pullout by US, NATO

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The final phase of ending America’s “forever war” in Afghanistan after 20 years formally began Saturday, with the withdrawal of the last U.S. and NATO troops by the end of summer.

President Joe Biden had set May 1 as the official start of the withdrawal of the remaining forces — about 2,500-3,500 U.S. troops and about 7,000 NATO soldiers.

Even before Saturday, the herculean task of packing up had begun.

The military has been taking inventory, deciding what is shipped back to the U.S., what is handed to the Afghan security forces and what is sold as junk in Afghanistan’s markets. In recent weeks, the military has been flying out equipment on massive C-17 cargo planes.

The U.S. is estimated to have spent more than $2 trillion in Afghanistan in the past two decades, according to the Costs of War project at Brown University, which documents the hidden costs of the U.S. military engagement.

Defense department officials and diplomats told The Associated Press the withdrawal has involved closing smaller bases over the last year. They said that since Biden announced the end-of-summer withdrawal date in mid-April, only roughly 60 military personnel had left the country.

The U.S. and its NATO allies went into Afghanistan together on Oct. 7, 2001 to hunt the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks who lived under the protection of the country’s Taliban rulers. Two months later, the Taliban had been defeated and al-Qaida fighters and their leader, Osama bin Laden, were on the run.

In his withdrawal announcement last month, Biden said the initial mission was accomplished a decade ago when U.S. Navy SEALS killed bin Laden in his hideout in neighboring Pakistan. Since then, al-Qaida has been degraded, while the terrorist threat has “metastasized” into a global phenomenon that is not contained by keeping thousands of troops in one country, he said.

Until now the U.S. and NATO have received no promises from the Taliban that they won’t attack troops during the pullout. In a response to AP questions, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the Taliban leadership was still mulling over its strategy.

The insurgent group continues to accuse Washington of breaching the deal it signed with Biden’s predecessor more than a year ago. In that agreement, the U.S. said it would have all troops out by May 1.

In a statement Saturday, Taliban military spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the passing of the May 1 deadline for a complete withdrawal “opened the way for (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) mujahidin to take every counteraction it deems appropriate against the occupying forces.”

However, he said fighters on the battlefield will wait for a decision from the leadership before launching any attacks and that decision will be based on “the sovereignty, values and higher interests of the country.”

Violence has spiked in Afghanistan since the February 2020 deal was signed. Peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government, which were part of the agreement, quickly bogged down. On Friday, a truck bomb in eastern Logar province killed 21 people, many of them police and students.

Afghans have paid the highest price since 2001, with 47,245 civilians killed, according to the Costs of War project. Millions more have been displaced inside Afghanistan or have fled to Pakistan, Iran and Europe.

Afghanistan’s security forces are expected to come under increasing pressure from the Taliban after the withdrawal if no peace agreement is reached in the interim, according to Afghan watchers.

Since the start of the war they have taken heavy losses, with estimates ranging from 66,000 to 69,000 Afghan troops killed. The Afghan military has been battered by corruption. The U.S. and NATO pay $4 billion a year to sustain the force.

Some 300,000 Afghan troops are on the books, although the actual number is believed to be lower. Commanders have been found to inflate the numbers to collect paychecks of so-called “ghost soldiers,” according to the U.S. watchdog monitoring Washington’s spending in Afghanistan.

Last year was the only year U.S. and NATO troops did not suffer a loss. The Defense Department says 2,442 U.S. troops have been killed and 20,666 wounded since 2001. It is estimated that over 3,800 U.S. private security contractors have been killed. The Pentagon does not track their deaths.

The conflict also has killed 1,144 personnel from NATO countries.

The Taliban, meanwhile, are at their strongest since being ousted in 2001. While mapping their gains and territorial holds is difficult, they are believed to hold sway or outright control over nearly half of Afghanistan.

“We are telling the departing Americans ... you fought a meaningless war and paid a cost for that and we also offered huge sacrifices for our liberation,” Shaheen told the AP on Friday.

Striking a more conciliatory tone, he added: “If you ... open a new chapter of helping Afghans in reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country, the Afghans will appreciate that.”

In announcing the departure, Biden said waiting for ideal conditions to leave would consign America to an indefinite stay.

In the Afghan capital and throughout the country, there is a growing fear that chaos will follow the departure of the last foreign troops. After billions of dollars and decades of war, many Afghans wonder at whether it was worth it.

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Op zaterdag 1 mei 2021 15:50 schreef sp3c het volgende:

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zolang ze maar niet weer trainingskampen voor terroristen toegaan staan die hier met vliegtuigen beginnen te smijten moeten ze lekker doen wat ze leuk vinden imo

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Tientallen doden bij aanslag middelbare school in Afghaanse hoofdstad

Bij een bomaanslag bij een meisjesschool in de Afghaanse hoofdstad Kabul zijn zeker 58 doden gevallen. De meeste daarvan zijn scholieren. In Afghanistan neemt het geweld opnieuw toe nu de Amerikaanse troepen zich uit het land terugtrekken.

In een sjiitische wijk in het westen van de hoofdstad ontplofte een autobom. De scholieren zouden in paniek naar buiten zijn gerend. Daarna volgden er nog twee ontploffingen.

Er zijn zeker 58 doden en 150 gewonden. De meeste daarvan zijn meisjes tussen de 11 en 15 jaar oud. Verwacht wordt dat het dodental nog verder zal oplopen.

'Iedereen schreeuwde'

''Ik was met mijn klasgenootje, we liepen net de school uit toen er een explosie was'', vertelt de 15-jarige Zahra vanuit haar ziekenhuisbed. Haar arm brak door een stuk van een granaatscherf.

''Tien minuten later was er nog een explosie, en een paar minuten later nog een'', zegt ze. ''Iedereen schreeuwde en alles zat onder het bloed. Ik zag amper nog iets.'' Haar klasgenootje heeft het niet overleefd.

De aanslag is nog niet opgeëist. De Afghaanse overheid wijst naar de taliban, maar die ontkennen achter deze aanslag te zitten. Volgens hen zouden terreurgroepen die banden met de Islamitische Staat hebben verantwoordelijk zijn.

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Pentagon Accelerates Withdrawal From Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — United States troops and their NATO allies intend to be out of Afghanistan by early to mid-July, well ahead of President Biden’s Sept. 11 withdrawal deadline, military officials said, in what has turned into an accelerated ending to America’s longest war.

SPOILER

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Afghan Government Could Collapse Six Months After U.S. Withdrawal, New Intelligence Assessment Says

Taliban advances prompt agencies to revise outlook for how long Kabul can hold out

KABUL—The U.S. intelligence community concluded last week that the government of Afghanistan could collapse as soon as six months after the American military withdrawal from the country is completed, according to officials with knowledge of the new assessment.

American intelligence agencies revised their previously more optimistic estimates as the Taliban swept through northern Afghanistan last week, seizing dozens of districts and surrounding major cities. Afghan security forces frequently surrendered without a fight, leaving their Humvees and other American-supplied equipment to the insurgents.

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Even the Taliban are surprised at how fast they're advancing in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — The Taliban are advancing at lightning speed across Afghanistan as U.S. troops withdraw. They now control a third of the country, are fighting for control of 42 percent more — and may even be slowing their advance on purpose.

A Taliban commander in Ghazni province told NBC News that he and fellow fighters were surprised at the speed of their advance and had avoided capturing some targets so as not to run afoul of the U.S.

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Op zondag 27 juni 2021 13:19 schreef AchJa het volgende:

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Is natuurlijk geen verrassing. Als je echt iets duurzaams wil doen voor dat soort landen moet je een hele generatie overslaan. Dus een commitment van minstens 50 jaar.