A senior U.S. military officer said that the United States does not rule out the possibility of a civil war in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of U.S. troops. According to U.S. intelligence assessments, the Kabul government is likely to follow the U.S. withdrawal after the Taliban controls more areas in Afghanistan. Collapsed within 6 months.
The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milly, said at a meeting of the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee on the 23rd that the worst situation that has occurred after the US withdraws from Afghanistan is the outbreak of civil war, the collapse of the Kabul government and the division of the Afghan army. Split.
Milli expressed concern about the Taliban’s control of parts of Afghanistan and emphasized that the US military is paying close attention to developments.
But Milli also made it clear that the responsibility of defending Afghanistan will be undertaken by the Afghan army and police. He also pointed out that the number of these troops is about 300,000.
At the same meeting, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated that the Taliban attack will not threaten the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. He also added, “We are focused on the task at hand, that is, to ensure safety, order and safety. Complete the withdrawal in a responsible way.”
Austin added that the Taliban movement controls 20% of the centers across Afghanistan, but it has failed to capture major cities.
Austin added that the Taliban movement has made more and more progress in various parts of Afghanistan, and these progress have been consolidated in the recent past.
Austin said that the United States is developing bilateral relations with its partners in Afghanistan, and that the size of the United States‘ presence in the country is subject to the protection of local American diplomats.
The US Central Command announced on the 22nd that the United States has completed 50% of its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The US Central Command stated that the US has handed over six military facilities to the Afghan Ministry of Defense and looks forward to handing over more military bases and equipment to the Afghan Ministry of Defense in the future to help it maintain stability and security in Afghanistan.
U.S. Intelligence Assessment
In this context, the Wall Street Journal published a long report on its website on the 23rd that the U.S. intelligence agency concluded that after the U.S. forces completely withdraw from Afghanistan, the government of that country may be in 6 months or less. It collapsed a year later.
The report pointed out that after the Taliban attacked northern Afghanistan last week, controlling dozens of strongholds and besieging major cities, the US intelligence agency revised the original assessment results.
The report added that after taking control of the most important border crossing point between the country and Tajikistan and entering the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif, the Taliban militants faced the government forces in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the results of the Taliban movement worries the White House and prompted the White House to call on the US military to slow down its withdrawal and may even keep the Bagram Air Force Base in northern Kabul open.
White House spokesperson Jan Psaki declined to comment on reports that the Afghan government may collapse within six months of the U.S. withdrawal.
Psaki added in the daily briefing that no change is expected in the date of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. She also pointed out that the matter will be discussed between U.S. President Joe Biden and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. .
Psaki pointed out that the United States has reached an assessment that if it does not start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, then its troops will be attacked.
Russia warns of the outbreak of civil war
At the same time, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on the same day that people are worried that Afghanistan will relapse into civil war after the withdrawal of NATO troops.
Shoigu added during his attendance at the Moscow International Security Conference that another civil war would have a series of negative effects, including the further deterioration of residents’ lives, the emergence of large-scale immigration, and the continuous spread of extremism to neighboring countries. .
Shoigu called for the participation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and believed that the Afghan issue could not be resolved without Pakistan and Iran.
Shoigu also believes that in the past 20 years, NATO has failed to achieve significant results in stabilizing and stabilizing the structure of the Afghan government.
In a statement issued at the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is concerned about the increased tension in Afghanistan after the complete withdrawal of foreign troops.
Achieve a ceasefire
Afghan Foreign Minister Mohamed Hanif Atmar called for a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Afghanistan, and emphasized that Qatar plays a very important role in promoting the peace process in Afghanistan.
Atmar had previously stated that the withdrawal of foreign troops would be completed within two weeks.
US President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the 25th.
It is expected that in this first meeting of its kind held by the two presidents since Biden took office at the beginning of this year, the impact of the US troop withdrawal on the security situation in Afghanistan will become the top priority of the discussions between the two sides.
.