A video of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warning of the “enormous consequences” of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan has gone viral.
Chaos has developed in the country’s capital, Kabul, following the collapse of the government and the seizure of power by the Taliban forces.
Seven people were killed in the city’s airports when thousands of Afghans stormed the runways of Kabul International Airport, with people clinging to the fuselage of a US military plane as it taxied.
President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday and within hours the Taliban leaders seized control of the presidential palace.
Clinton warned of the possibility of the Taliban taking control of the country again in a May interview with CNN.
“This is what we call a wicked problem,” Clinton told the news network last spring.
“There are both intended and unintended consequences of staying and leaving.”
Clinton, like Joe Biden, supported the US invasion of Afghanistan after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Biden ordered US troops to begin withdrawing from the country on May 1 with the goal of having US forces completely disappear on September 11. Former President Donald Trump had pledged to withdraw all troops by May 1 if he had been re-elected.
Clinton was asked about Biden’s decision in the May interview with Fareed Zakaria from CNN.
He said the “two major consequences” of the withdrawal would be the resumption of the activities of extremist groups and an exodus of refugees to neighboring countries.
He called for “immediate” action to remove Afghan citizens who had assisted the US military and civilian efforts in the country.
Read more: Taliban begin confiscating weapons from civilians in Afghanistan
The US State Department has evacuated all personnel from its embassy to the airport, which is controlled by the US military.
The United States has 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, and a total of 6,000 will be there in the coming days, according to officials.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin authorized a third battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division’s Brigade Combat Team heading to Kuwait to go to HKIA airport.
American intelligence had predicted that it would take weeks for the civilian government to fall to the Taliban, but in the end it only took a few days.
–
