The situation in Afghanistan is becoming increasingly dramatic now that Western allies are withdrawing from the country.
At the same time as the military presence is shrinking, the Taliban is advancing faster than anyone had expected.
On Thursday, the Taliban took control of the big cities Kandahar and Herat, and they are moving ever closer to Kabul.
The Pentagon is now sending 3,000 US troops to Afghanistan to help evacuate staff at the US embassy in the capital.
At the same time as several countries are now withdrawing their citizens and soldiers from Afghanistan, the Americans are afraid that they will have to relive one of the greatest humiliations they have experienced in recent history.
– TALIBAN: Taliban fighters are patrolling here in the city of Ghazni, not far from Kabul. Photo: AP / Gulabuddin Amiri
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«The fall of Saigon»
In April, US President Joe Biden announced that the Americans would withdraw from Afghanistan. This without Western allies having succeeded in creating a stable situation in the country.
Many now fear that full-scale civil war will break out as soon as Western allies have withdrawn all forces.
For the Americans, the failed mission has evoked memories of the humiliating defeat in Vietnam.
The United States invaded Vietnam in 1955 with the goal of fighting the post-war communist regime.
20 years later, the superpower had to put its tail between its legs and evacuate soldiers in a hurry.
– TAKEN CONTROL: North Vietnamese forces took control of Saigon the day the Americans had to evacuate the city in April 1975. Photo: AFP
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In April 1975, the capital Saigon in southern Vietnam fell.
Helicopters landed on embassy roofs to urgently evacuate both soldiers and civilians while North Vietnamese forces rolled into the city with armored vehicles.
– Sends us towards even worse humiliation
It was Donald Trump who first signaled that the United States would end its military presence in Afghanistan, but it was Biden who in April announced that the entire American force would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by 9/11.
Biden is now being criticized by Republicans and former members of the Trump administration for the force evacuation process.
“President Biden’s decisions send us towards an even worse follow-up to the humiliating days surrounding Saigon’s fall in 1975. President Biden now finds that the fastest way to end a war is to lose it,” said Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell.
He asks Biden to send further US reinforcements to support Afghan security forces.
Without it, the Taliban will be able to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by burning down our embassy in Kabul.
– PRESIDENT: Joe Biden stands his ground, and believes it is right to pull the United States out of Afghanistan. Photo: Susan Walsh
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America’s longest war
Former Secretary of State Mike Pomeo believes the strategy of withdrawing forces has failed.
– It looks like there is a bit of panic going on. I hope they have the right number of people to complete the mission, and that they get there quickly, says Pompeo.
Biden, for his part, has said he does not regret the decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, pointing out that the United States has spent billions of dollars on the operation, and that thousands of Americans have lost their lives in what has become the longest-running war in the United States. has led.
Even though they are withdrawing from the country, the United States still contributes food and wages to Afghan security forces.
US media report that the evacuation is about 95 percent complete.
Norway is also closing
Several other countries are also now evacuating their citizens from Kabul.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide announced that Norway is now temporarily closing its embassy in Kabul.
Denmark, Finland and Germany do the same.
Asked by TV 2 if this means that NATO’s mission in Afghanistan has been a failure, Søreide stated that the evacuation is a recognition that the deterioration around the security situation in the country is going faster than expected.
– We expected that this would become complicated as the international forces withdrew. But it has gone faster and it is more comprehensive than we had anticipated.
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