- George W. Bush said that the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was a mistake.
- Bush initiated the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
- The Taliban leaders said last week that their fighters control 85% of Afghanistan’s land.
Former U.S. President George W. Bush, who initiated the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, warned that the military withdrawal of the U.S. and NATO is now accelerating to a conclusion that will lead to the return of the brutal Taliban rule.
“The consequences will be incredibly bad,” former President Bush said in an interview released on Wednesday by the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
In a rare media interview at Bush’s summer house in Kennebunkport, Maine, the former president was asked whether his withdrawal was a mistake. Bush replied: “You know, I think so, yes.”
Bush said:
It’s unbelievable how this society has changed from the cruelty of the Taliban, and suddenly-sadly-I fear that Afghan women and girls will suffer indescribable harm.
On September 11, 2001, when Al-Qaida agents hijacked a commercial airliner and flew the plane into the World Trade Center building in New York and the Pentagon military headquarters outside Washington, DC, Bush assumed the presidency. -Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden hosted by the Taliban.
Now nearly 20 years later, President Joe Biden is implementing the agreement negotiated with the Taliban to withdraw American and foreign troops.
Encouraged by the withdrawal of Western troops, Taliban fighters surging from one region to another, taking control of large areas of the country. The Taliban leaders said last week that their fighters control 85% of Afghanistan’s land — a claim that the Kabul government sees as propaganda.
Although it is difficult to determine the exact details of the countries controlled by the organization due to the rugged mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, the Taliban acted quickly and often caught government forces by surprise.
According to a Reuters report, on Wednesday, the Taliban claimed that it controlled a major border crossing with Pakistan and removed the Afghan government flag from the top of the friendship gate between the Pakistani town of Chaman and the Afghan town of Wesh. The Afghan Ministry of Interior said on Wednesday that the Taliban had been repulsed and government forces had been controlled.
Read also | The Pentagon says the U.S. may slow its withdrawal from Afghanistan
Taliban militants occupied an important area in Herat Province overnight from Thursday to Friday-Torhondi, a northern town bordering Turkmenistan and home to tens of thousands of Shiite Hazaras .
The Taliban persecuted the Hazaras when they ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
In a speech at the White House on July 8, Biden stated that the US military will complete its withdrawal from Afghanistan ahead of schedule by the end of August, and refuted growing concerns about the development of the civil war.
Biden said at the White House: “Frankly, this is a correct decision, a late decision.”
Biden has been pushing for peace talks between the Taliban and the Western-backed Kabul government. A senior delegation from the Afghan government and senior Taliban leaders have agreed to meet in Qatar to initiate negotiations that have been stalled for months.
In an interview with Deutsche Welle, Bush focused on the political legacy of the outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and their friendship. Bush said that Merkel supported the deployment in Afghanistan, partly because “because she saw what can be done for Afghanistan. Progress made by young girls and women”.
During the Taliban rule in the late 1990s, women were basically confined at home and girls were unable to receive education. Despite protests from the United States and Europe, the Taliban enforced its version of Islamic law.
Afghanistan is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis-UN refugee agency
“I’m sorry,” Bush said.
He says:
Laura and I spent a lot of time with Afghan women and they were scared. I thought of all the interpreters and personnel who helped not only the American army but also the NATO army. They seemed to be slaughtered by these very barbaric people. It broke my heart.
In 2005, as the first lady of the United States, Laura Bush went to Kabul, where she promoted women’s education and met with businesswomen and Afghan women who were learning to read for the first time. She remains a staunch supporter of the American University of Afghanistan, which educates men and women in Kabul.
The U.S. Military Central Command said on Tuesday that, according to the Associated Press, the United States has deployed about 4,000 soldiers in Afghanistan in recent months, and the current withdrawal is about 95% complete.
The United States plans to retain approximately 650 soldiers in Kabul to protect its embassy and international airport.
Read also | The U.S. withdraws Afghan interpreters who have helped the military
The United States has been negotiating with Turkey to take over the long-term security of the airport. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued a statement on Tuesday, stating that the Taliban threatened to bear serious consequences, calling the move “unwise, infringing upon our sovereignty and territorial integrity, and against our national interests.”
US Army General Austin “Scott” Miller has given up command of the US military in Afghanistan and returned to the US on Wednesday. Miller warned at a media conference at the end of June that Afghanistan was in danger of falling into civil war.
The United States will begin to send Afghan interpreters, drivers, and clerks to assist the United States and NATO forces in Afghanistan, who may be in danger of injury or death under the Taliban.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters: “Our goal is to move eligible individuals out of the country before the troop withdrawal at the end of August.”
Congress is drafting legislation to provide expedited visas to up to 18,000 Afghans, and Biden administration officials are developing a logistics plan to resettle the unspecified number while waiting for visa processing.
Biden has said that anyone who supports Americans will not be left behind.
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