Although the deadline for U.S. withdrawals is May 1, some defense officials told CNN that the U.S.-led NATO alliance would like to see decisions made after April 1 because of the challenges of removing U.S. weapons and equipment. Amid anxiety. It fell into the hands of the Taliban.
Since 9/11, the United States has poured 8 864 billion and 2,400 lives into Afghanistan in search of a noble idea: to turn one of the world’s poorest, most dangerous countries into a strong, stable Afghanistan-led, self-reliant democratic state. It cannot be used as a staging ground to start.
“A corrupt, drug-ridden Afghan state can never be a reliable partner capable of protecting its own or the interests of the United States and other donors,” Sopko said Wednesday, releasing his report to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Sopko said Afghanistan’s only goal right now is “survival”.
The country’s domestic corruption has actively undermined U.S. reconstruction efforts and led them to complete failure. The illicit opium trade has grown in Afghanistan, as the U.S. And other countries have reduced resistance efforts, and the Afghan government has done little to curb trade. And then the coronavirus epidemic in 2019 wiped out the modest 3% growth in the Afghan economy.
The report found that whatever the outcome of the current peace talks between the Taliban insurgents and the Afghan government – the way forward for reconstruction has never been more risky. The government, heavily dependent on international donors, will struggle to sustain itself or its armed forces in the event of a full US military withdrawal or further reduction in foreign aid. The Afghan government relies not only on the security and training provided by US forces, but also on the manpower and expertise provided by thousands of US and other contractors.
The bidder needs to make a decision in a week
Under the peace deal between the Trump administration and the Taliban, U.S. The date for withdrawing all troops from Afghanistan is set for May 1. But any decision, with a full withdrawal to increase army levels, would require planning and coordination weeks before that date.
If the Biden administration completes the drawdown and removes the remaining 25,000 troops from Afghanistan, it will take a major effort to remove or destroy the weapons, equipment and facilities that could fall into the hands of the Taliban, defense officials told CNN. While some gear and sites may be handed over to the Afghan government, an uncertain future hangs over all decisions now.
This means there is a wish that the decision will not be made after April 1, defense officials said. Once the full withdrawal is possible in less than 0 days, it is possible to destroy weapons and equipment using explosives.
The challenge is one of geography. As many devices as possible will be put in the plane in the last 300 days window, it is not possible to pull back on the roads due to the mountainous, rugged terrain of Afghanistan, and there are no ports nearby. In contrast, during the withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, the convoy was able to move relatively smoothly from the southeastern route outside the country to Kuwait.
But for now, there is no clarity on the next steps.
“We are working closely with the Afghan parties to promote progress towards a political settlement and a comprehensive ceasefire,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday. “We are also working diplomatically to mobilize regional and international support for peace. There is a widespread and long-standing consensus that there is no military solution to this conflict, and that political settlement … must be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned.”
A Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, said no final decision had been made and that an interdisciplinary review of options and policies was under way.
The United States has proposed a power-sharing agreement
Blink also suggested that Afghanistan’s neighbors, including Iran, would play a major role in this, and warned that the Biden administration would not allow the U.S. The military continues to review whether it will withdraw.
U.S. for Afghanistan reconciliation The letter, sent by Zalmay Khalilzad, the UN special envoy to Afghanistan, gives the first real look at the Biden administration’s thinking about Afghanistan, and writes to Blink that he wants Guinea to “understand the urgency of my voice.”
The situation in Afghanistan is frustrating for Biden, who opposed the increase in U.S. presence during the Obama administration and said he could deny U.S. involvement in nearly 20 years of conflict. Domestic criticism could erupt if Biden does not comply after his departure, but at the same time, Afghanistan remains unstable, the Taliban have increased their control over the country’s vast swaths and the benefits gained by women and girls are at stake.
The U.S. has “plans on the shelf” about how to complete the full withdrawal by May 1 if the order arrives, the defense official told CNN. The plans include delivering some supplies to Afghanistan, sending some home and destroying some, the official said. Although the number of troops in the army has dwindled from about 1,000,000 a year ago to 9,000, a significant number of aircraft and long-range efforts will be required for the calculation period.
However, there may be a combination of decisions, including some type of negotiation agreement, to allow for more than 1 May mission lengths or long-term withdrawals.
Reduced military levels – the lowest since 2001 – offer major benefits. The official said that due to multiple drawdowns in recent months, the additional inventory over the years has already dwindled. It is less clear how long it will take NATO allies to withdraw their 8,000 troops and supplies in quick retaliation.
But peace is not a cure for Afghanistan, Sopko warned. A comprehensive peace deal could require an additional 2 5.2 billion in new foreign aid by 2024, the report said.
Sopko said the international donor community could stick to the bill instead of the peace dividend.
CNN’s Nicole Gowt, Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hensler contributed to this report.
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