World community critical of the US, NATO over hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan
Islamabad: The hasty withdrawal of the US troops and plunging of the landlocked country into chaos has drawn the ire of international community against the United States of America and NATO.
The lightning takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban has took the world by surprise leading to strong reactions from leading politicians and military figures in Europe and the West, Foreign News Agencies reported.
China on Tuesday accused Washington of “leaving an awful mess” in Afghanistan signaling its readiness to cooperate with the Taliban after the United States’ withdrawal.
Germany’s defence minister on Tuesday also urged NATO to learn lessons from its Afghanistan mission — and slammed it as a “debacle”, AFP reported.
Speaking ahead of an emergency meeting of NATO ambassadors, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told German broadcaster ZDF “there’s a lot that we have to work on within NATO”.
“The question for us will be to what extent are we willing to carry the consequences for this, and to what extent we are prepared to take measures that up to this point we have left to the Americans,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said.
“Due to the chaotic situation at the airport and the regular exchange of fire at the access point yesterday, further German citizens and people to be evacuated could not be given access to the airport without the protection of the Bundeswehr [German army],” a spokesman for the German foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, the Agence France Presse reported.
“The retrieval of people located in the civilian part of the airport was not made possible by partners responsible for security at the airport,” German Foreign Office said.
A number of other German notables expressed their dismay at Washington’s decision to pull out, which precipitated the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan.
Merkel herself alluded to a decision made “due to domestic politics” in the United States.
On Monday the head of Angela Merkel’s conservative party and possible successor to the German chancellor called the pullout NATO’s “biggest debacle” since its creation.
“It’s the biggest debacle that NATO has suffered since its creation and it’s a change of era that we are confronted with,” CDU leader Armin Laschet said in response to the Taliban’s swift victory.
The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace had also criticised the US decision to leave Afghanistan as a “mistake” that has handed the Taliban “momentum” the Guardian Friday quoted him.
Speaking to Sky News,Ben warned that “the international community will probably pay the consequences” and said he was worried al-Qaida would regain a base in Afghanistan, the paper further added.
Wallace said the withdrawal agreement negotiated in Doha, Qatar, by the Trump administration was a “rotten deal” which the UK tried to resist.
He said the UK had no choice but to pull troops out, because the international community had to act together.
President Joe Biden however had stood by his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan, while also acknowledging the situation descended into chaos faster than he expected and accepting some responsibility.
“I stand squarely behind my decision,” Biden said Monday afternoon in remarks from the White House, adding that his administration planned for every contingency. “After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces.”
“I know my decision will be criticized, but I would rather take all that criticism” than violate a campaign pledge and pass on an unwinnable war to yet another U.S. president, Biden said.
