Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Epaper

The departure of US troops and Taliban

Published : Saturday, 17 July, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 776
Md Zillur Rahaman
The Trump administration signed an unprecedented agreement with the Taliban to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan. The agreement was signed on February 29, 2020 in Doha, Qatar, with the aim of ending the 20-year-old Afghan war. The terms of the agreement call for the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan within next 14 months, but new US President Joe Biden has promised to withdraw US troops by September 11, 2021.

The agreement calls for the withdrawal of all NATO troops from Afghanistan, as well as a permanent ceasefire in the country, according to which almost all US and NATO troops have already been withdrawn. The US proposal to keep 650 US troops in Afghanistan to protect Kabul International Airport and US diplomats was rejected by the Taliban. However, the Taliban has vowed not to accept the presence of any US or NATO troops in Afghanistan.

However, an Afghan commander said that American troops had fled from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan in the dark of night without informing anyone. The airport was a safe haven for about 40,000 US and NATO troops. US and NATO forces have left Afghanistan's Bagram Airbase at the end of an unfinished war. A few days ago, it was reported that about 1,000 Afghan soldiers fighting the Taliban in northern Afghanistan crossed the border and fled to Tajikistan. Taliban's rise and advance has raised more concerns, as well as the issue is much-debated at home and abroad.

In 1979, the former Soviet Union took control of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and other parts of the country. The Afghan Mujahideen revolted against that Soviet domination. In order to stop the domination of the Soviet Union, then the USA created the Mujahideen forced with arms and money in direct cooperation. The Taliban later emerged as a central power in Afghanistan during the civil war.

It is noteworthy that geographically, Afghanistan is a rugged barren desert-like mountainous country, but it is undoubtedly rich in valuable mineral resources, including oil and gas. The country has geopolitical importance also. However, Afghanistan has been targeted by foreign invaders different times. The British imperialists and the Soviet occupiers have never been able to get the slightest advantage in that rugged land. There is no surprise in the failure and humiliation of the powerful US forces.

The USA has had to pay a high price for nearly two decades of war since 2001. According to US government estimates, there were at least 100,000 US troops in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2012 at a cost of US$ 100 billion. Later, when the USA began training Afghan forces instead of sending troops to military operations, the cost dropped significantly. From 2016 to 2018, their annual expenditure was US$ 40 billion. As of September 2019, US$ 38 billion has been spent this year. According to the US Department of Defense, the US military spending in Afghanistan from October 2001 to September 2019 was at US$ 778 billion.

Originally, the longest war in US history was going on indefinitely and it was becoming increasingly difficult for America to continue the war. After nearly 53,000 soldiers were killed in the 10-year war in Vietnam, the US administration was forced to accept a humiliating defeat under intense public pressure. On the other hand, the US-led NATO forces have been looking for a way out of Afghanistan for a long time. America was a bit cornered but following this failure, there have been several rounds of talks with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, since 2018.

The US administration finally reached an agreement with the Taliban on February 29, 2020. Under the agreement, the Taliban promised to abide by the terms of the agreement for 14 months in Afghanistan. The biggest risk to the US-Taliban pact is the current US-dependent Afghan puppet government, as there is not much clear in this agreement. The agreement does not explicitly say what the future of governance in Afghanistan will be, especially if NATO troops are withdrawn in accordance with the agreement then what will be the role of the current government in Kabul.

The Taliban, on the other hand, are sympathetic to democracy, but their goals are quite different. The main goal of the Taliban is to implement Sharia law. So, the Taliban have an ideological final conflict with the current Afghan government. The current rulers also have clear differences over women's leadership and women's rights. So, there are doubts about how realistic the power-sharing talks with the Taliban are. It is not possible for the Taliban to deviate from their main goal. Despite all these things the US is leaving the country.

The quicksand of Afghanistan and Iraq are no less disgraceful than Vietnam. In fact, in the twenty-year war in Afghanistan, the USA has not been able to establish democracy, nor has it been able to establish peace, nor has it been able to overthrow the Taliban. The way the Taliban is occupying one area after another in Afghanistan, they may soon occupy the capital Kabul and oust the US puppet government Ashraf Ghani. Although the most beautiful place to resolve the political crisis is the negotiating table, the Taliban are moving in a different tactics. America is at the centre of today's situation in Afghanistan, the rise of various insurgent groups and the threat of civil war.

But the best solution will be stopping outside interference in determining the political destiny of the Afghan people. Only the internal unity of their political parties can bring peace to the graveyard of empires, Afghanistan. It is not enough for the US and NATO forces to leave, only a government elected in a participatory election by a group of political groups after the fall of US back Ashraf Ghani can build the future of Afghanistan. Question remains, will Afghanistan be able to proceed? Or the peace of Afghanistan will remain as a mirage because of foreign conspiracy?
The writer is a banker and freelance columnist





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