As American soldiers depart Afghanistan this year, a senior US military commander cautioned on Sunday that the nation must remain alert.
The U.S Commander in Afghanistan Warned the Country
In a recently published article in The Hill, Army Gen. Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said the country should not turn its back on Afghanistan.
Miller's remarks follow a warning from the general at the end of June that the security situation in Afghanistan was "not good" as the US prepares to leave the nation. This is also after the announcement of Pres. Biden to withdraw the U.S. troops.
Miller said "I think there are tremendous lessons. And, you know, they're not all positives, there are victories as well. So we will celebrate those within organizations, and really learn from those things that didn't go as well as they wanted to. You know, an honest self-reflection, that's going to be important going forward," according to a published report in The Wall Street Journal.
Taliban Group Quickly Moves in Different Areas
Following the start of NATO withdrawals in April, the Taliban moved swiftly, seizing control of dozens of districts and establishing circumstances that, according to Miller, would not bode well for Afghanistan in the future if a military takeover is attempted.
Miller highlighted how the loss of landscape is worrisome and how quickly it is happening. The US Commander also said that the Taliban are advancing throughout Afghanistan, and what no one wants to happen is for the people to lose hope and think they have been presented with a predetermined conclusion.
Needless to say, President Biden stated in April that the last 3,500 US soldiers in Afghanistan, as well as the 7,000 NATO troops, would depart by September 11, according to a published article in the Economic Times.
The U.S. Troops Leave After 20 Years
The US military has departed Afghanistan's Bagram airfield, the epicenter of its battle to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaeda perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, after almost 20 years, according to two US officials.
The whole airfield was turned over to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, they claimed on Friday, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, according to a published article in ALJAZEERA.
Pres. Joe Biden told reporters at the White House in Washington, DC, that after 20 years of US assistance, he expects Afghanistan's government and military to manage to increase Taliban assaults.
Meanwhile, the US has declined to specify when the last of its troops would leave Afghanistan, citing security concerns as well as the ongoing negotiations for the protection of Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport. The airport is presently guarded by Turkish and US troops.
In addition, the US will station around 6,500 soldiers in Afghanistan to guard its huge embassy in Kabul. Their presence will be covered by a bilateral arrangement with the Afghan government.
The US and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan comes as Taliban militants advance throughout the nation, taking control of dozens of districts and overwhelming the country's battered Afghan Security Forces.
