NEW DELHI: The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan is a mistake that the US will “regret”, according to General David Petraeus, who served as the commander of coalition forces and headed the US Central Command in the war-torn country in 2011. He said that without assurances of US support, the Afghan military would “do what it has already done – give up their positions, flee the Taliban” or surrender”.
Former CIA director Petraeus told TOI that in the absence of US forces and thousands of contractors, the trip to Kabul would probably be a painful one. “I fear that the decision to withdraw will plunge Afghanistan into a bloody civil war, and is likely to produce millions of refugees, damage infrastructure and allow an ultra-conservative democratic regime to rule much of the country.” may enforce which undermines the rights of women, democratic processes and human rights,” he said.
Although there are no flaws in the current government structure and leaders, the Taliban regime will be incomparably worse, he warned. “Frankly,” he said, “I would have thought that a sustained and lasting American commitment in terms of the ‘blood and treasure’ spent would be better than what we would post our return.”
On the security implications for the US in the event of chaos in Afghanistan, Petraeus said, “I hope we will see”. al Qaeda and IS affiliated to open Area, Khorasan Group, seek to establish sanctuaries in Taliban-controlled territory – just as al-Qaeda established its sanctuary in eastern Afghanistan, when much of the country was under Taliban control in the late 1990s, and planned the 9/11 attacks.
He said he did not expect al-Qaeda or IS to “pose a significant threat to the American homeland in the near term, because of how much our operations have undermined their capabilities and improvements in US intelligence”. Petraeus said US and coalition intelligence “will work very hard to identify new hideouts for al-Qaeda and IS in Afghanistan, although many assets will have to be worked over the horizon”.
He had a word of caution for India. “The US withdrawal, and the prospect of taking control of more territories with the Taliban/Haqqani network, will make it difficult for India to conduct diplomatic activity, development and other assistance.”
Regarding other countries tracking Afghanistan, he said, “It is not clear how willing the Taliban will be to appear friendly to Pakistan. China would like to advance mining industries in Afghanistan, security permit.” He said the only country that could lose some land could be Pakistan. “I doubt that America’s dependence on Pakistan in the Af-Pak region will decrease; The US would be less dependent on land lines of communication from the port in Pakistan. America will try to maintain a constructive relationship.”
Former CIA director Petraeus told TOI that in the absence of US forces and thousands of contractors, the trip to Kabul would probably be a painful one. “I fear that the decision to withdraw will plunge Afghanistan into a bloody civil war, and is likely to produce millions of refugees, damage infrastructure and allow an ultra-conservative democratic regime to rule much of the country.” may enforce which undermines the rights of women, democratic processes and human rights,” he said.
Although there are no flaws in the current government structure and leaders, the Taliban regime will be incomparably worse, he warned. “Frankly,” he said, “I would have thought that a sustained and lasting American commitment in terms of the ‘blood and treasure’ spent would be better than what we would post our return.”
On the security implications for the US in the event of chaos in Afghanistan, Petraeus said, “I hope we will see”. al Qaeda and IS affiliated to open Area, Khorasan Group, seek to establish sanctuaries in Taliban-controlled territory – just as al-Qaeda established its sanctuary in eastern Afghanistan, when much of the country was under Taliban control in the late 1990s, and planned the 9/11 attacks.
He said he did not expect al-Qaeda or IS to “pose a significant threat to the American homeland in the near term, because of how much our operations have undermined their capabilities and improvements in US intelligence”. Petraeus said US and coalition intelligence “will work very hard to identify new hideouts for al-Qaeda and IS in Afghanistan, although many assets will have to be worked over the horizon”.
He had a word of caution for India. “The US withdrawal, and the prospect of taking control of more territories with the Taliban/Haqqani network, will make it difficult for India to conduct diplomatic activity, development and other assistance.”
Regarding other countries tracking Afghanistan, he said, “It is not clear how willing the Taliban will be to appear friendly to Pakistan. China would like to advance mining industries in Afghanistan, security permit.” He said the only country that could lose some land could be Pakistan. “I doubt that America’s dependence on Pakistan in the Af-Pak region will decrease; The US would be less dependent on land lines of communication from the port in Pakistan. America will try to maintain a constructive relationship.”
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