11th August, 2021
The United States has literally thrown Afghans under the bus with the decision of the Biden Administration to withdraw all American troops by August ending.
The Taliban that the American forces ousted in 2001 are now on the rampage, capitalising on the US exit and retaking ground from Afghan government forces.
By Wednesday, at least nine provincial capitals have been overrun by the Taliban with little resistance by Afghan forces.
U.S. intelligence that had projected the Afghan capital of Kabul to fall to the Islamists between six to 12 months, after U.S. exit have revised their position.
They now see a shorter timeline for Taliban to have a total control of the country, reports the Washington Post.
The administration of President Joe Biden has been informed by the US military now that a collapse could occur within anything from a month to 90 days, current and former US officials are cited as saying.
“Everything is moving in the wrong direction,” a source familiar with the military’s new intelligence assessment was cited as saying.
The worsening outlook comes as Taliban fighters seized the capitals of Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces to the northeast and Farah province to the west, officials said on Wednesday.
Earlier, the insurgents captured six other provincial capitals, including Kunduz in Kunduz province, in less than a week.
Of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals, nine are now in the insurgents’ hands as a result of the rapid Taliban offensive in the wake of departing US troops.
Kabul itself has not been directly threatened in the current advance, claim officials, yet they admit that Afghan security forces are stretched as they attempt to stem the onslaught on their own.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday insisted that he did not “regret” his decision to end the 20-year campaign.
He has also told Afghans to defend their country against Taliban onslaught.
Adapted from a report by Sputnik.