US has hung Afghanistan 'out to dry,' former ambassador says
WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) – The Biden administration is abandoning Afghanistan’s government in its hour of need and all but giving the country to Taleban fighters through its decision to withdraw troops, a former US ambassador said on Wednesday (Aug 11).
“This is a handover to the Taleban,” Ryan Crocker, who served as ambassador to Afghanistan during the Obama administration, said in an interview on Bloomberg TV’s Balance Of Power With David Westin.
The Afghan government, he said, now perceives “rightly that we have hung them out to dry. We did a deal with their enemy.”
Taleban fighters have taken control of a number of provincial capitals in recent days as the US completes its plan to withdraw remaining troops by the end of the month, ahead of the anniversary of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the US.
“It is ironic that as we approach the 20th anniversary of those attacks, we are handing the country over to those who sheltered the Al-Qaeda planners who put the whole thing together for 9/11,” Crocker said.
“We are watching history repeat in a very bad way.”
The speed of the Taleban’s march has surprised even senior US officials, who had anticipated a takeover, if it happened, could take at least six months.
In a briefing on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the US is “closely watching the deteriorating security conditions in parts of the country, but no particular outcome, in our view, is inevitable.”
She said the Taleban has to “make an assessment of what they want their role to be in the international community.”
Crocker offered sharp criticism of the Trump administration’s decision to negotiate with the Taleban as former president Donald Trump sought to deliver on an Afghanistan troop withdrawal.
The veteran diplomat also lambasted President Joe Biden’s argument that the Taleban will need to form an inclusive government or lose international legitimacy.
“The Taleban was the one Islamic group that could force the United States to retreat,” Crocker said.
“That is worth way more to them than any level of international legitimacy.”
Join ST’s Telegram channel here and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Source: Read Full Article
