Status: 09/28/2021 7:21 p.m.
“Was it perfect? No, of course not”: The US made mistakes with the Afghanistan withdrawal – Defense Secretary Austin admitted that. At the same time, he warned of a new threat from IS and Al Qaeda.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin defended the withdrawal of the US military from Afghanistan at the end of August – but at the same time admitted errors in the evacuation mission. “The Taliban had made it clear that their cooperation would end on September 1st,” Austin said at a Senate hearing on the matter. The first two days of the military evacuation mission were particularly difficult. However, the situation was brought under control within 48 hours.
“Was it perfect? No, of course not,” Austin said.
He admitted that the extent of corruption and bad leadership on the Afghan side was not recognized. Nor was it seen that the Doha agreement with the Taliban had demoralized the Afghan armed forces.
Misjudgments by the military
Chief of Staff Mark Milley also admitted misjudgments and warned of the threat of terrorism. “It’s clear, it’s obvious that the war in Afghanistan didn’t end on the terms we wanted,” he said. The fact that terror groups like the “Islamic State” (IS) or Al Qaeda could try to attack the USA from Afghanistan is a “very real possibility”.
Milley had warned then President Donald Trump and his successor Joe Biden of the dangers of a quick exit. He emphasized that he had already warned in autumn 2020 that a too quick withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan could lead to a “complete takeover by the Taliban” or to a “general civil war”.
“Absolutely” did not see the rapid collapse of the Afghan military and government coming, Milley said. Secret services had expected the Taliban to come to power in late autumn or winter, perhaps also next spring.
Lloyd Austin said the extent of demoralization and corruption on the Afghan side was misunderstood, among other things.
Image: AP
Military use ended after almost 20 years
The last US troops left Afghanistan at the end of August. This ended the international military operation in the country after almost 20 years – the military evacuation mission was also ended. In the midst of the evacuation operation, dozens of Afghans and 13 US soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack in front of Kabul airport.
The IS, hostile to the radical Islamist Taliban, claimed the attack for itself. The Taliban took power in Kabul in mid-August.
“The circumstances in August were far from ideal: extreme heat, a (…) country without a government, a highly dynamic situation on the ground and a (…) deadly terrorist threat,” said Austin. Work is still going on to get Americans and Afghan local workers out of the country.