Status: 07/29/2021 3:57 p.m.
The NATO mission in Afghanistan is over. However, support continues to be provided to the country’s armed forces. For example through a training program in Turkey that is supposed to train special forces.
Shortly after the end of their training mission in Afghanistan, NATO started the first training program for Afghan soldiers abroad. According to information from the dpa news agency, members of the Afghan special forces were flown to Turkey on Wednesday evening for a course – the prelude to regular training opportunities outside of Afghanistan.
A NATO spokesman in Brussels confirmed the start of the training program, but did not want to comment on the location or details for security reasons. “In addition to continued funding and diplomatic presence, NATO’s continued support for Afghanistan also includes the training of Afghan special forces outside the country,” he said. The training has now started.
It is unclear whether Germany will participate in the training of Afghan special forces abroad. According to information from government circles, the use of Bundeswehr trainers is not ruled out. Before a decision is made, however, one should wait and see whether the new training concept works.
In continuous action against the Taliban
A danger is that participants withdraw during the courses in order to then apply for asylum in an EU country, for example. The background to the fear is that the security situation in Afghanistan has worsened significantly after NATO’s decision to withdraw in April. After several offensives, the militant Islamist Taliban now control just over half of the roughly 400 districts in the country, parts of important interurban roads and several border crossings into neighboring countries.
The Islamists’ rapid territorial gains came as a surprise to many observers. Before the international troops began to withdraw, the vast majority of Western diplomats and experts in Kabul were confident that the security forces would be able to withstand the Taliban. Above all, they mentioned the well-trained special forces and the air force as key assets of the government.
In the meantime, confidence has given way to major doubts. The Afghan Air Force has been in constant use since the United States withdrew all of its warplanes from the country. The result: As early as June, the operational readiness of five of the total of seven aircraft types had fallen significantly, according to a published report by the US Inspector General for Reconstruction in Afghanistan. It is similar with the special forces. They are constantly being sent to all corners of the country on missions to recapture areas, liberate encircled regular troops or repel attacks on provincial capitals. Most regular troops now refuse to operate without the commandos. The latter are already considered overused.
More US air support
However, the operational radius of the Afghan government troops could soon be limited. Obviously, in Kabul the realization has taken hold that many rural areas are unsustainable. From military circles it is said that they are preparing to defend only the cities in a few months. In view of the dramatic developments, the USA and other NATO countries are increasingly coming under fire. The quick trigger was a mistake, is the allegation. In the past few days, the USA has again flown more air strikes in support of the security forces. The planes for this are meanwhile rising outside of Afghanistan, the US withdrawal is according to its own statements to 95 percent complete.
US General Kenneth McKenzie, who is now responsible for Afghanistan, said in Kabul that these air strikes would continue for the next few days and weeks. However, it is unclear what will happen after August 31st. Then the US military mission in Afghanistan ends. US officials have said in the past that key functions such as the Afghan Air Force will continue to be funded, the salaries of the security forces will continue to be paid and certain military goods will continue to be supplied. So far, however, there has been no promise that air support will continue to be provided in the fight against the Taliban beyond August 31.