In order to justify the US government in the face of criticism of Washington’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s takeover of the country, Lloyd Austin said that no one expected the Afghan government to fall in 11 days.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in an interview on Sunday that no one expected the Afghan government to fall in 11 days.
“It was very difficult to predict accurately,” he told IBS News about a week after the Taliban took control of Kabul. All of this happened over a period of about eleven days. No one predicted the government would fall in eleven days.
Austin added that in his assessments before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, it was estimated that it would take several months or one to two years for the Afghan government to fall. The Secretary of Defense further said that US officials witnessed the surrender of the Afghan army and their disappearance with the beginning of the Taliban occupation.
Asked if the US plan to withdraw was acceptable and appropriate, he confirmed the withdrawal before criticizing the previous administration for creating a situation in which he said there was no good option. I say the basis of what we had in mind and the information we had in the program.
“But I think you should go back and see what the government has inherited,” he said, according to the Hill news website. We were faced with the deadline of May 1st for the withdrawal of all forces from the country. The agreement was reached with the Taliban. So he [President Biden] had to quickly make a thorough assessment and consider all the options in terms of what he could do. And none of these options were good.
“He (Biden) went through a very precise and detailed process,” Austin continued. He listened to the information provided by all parties involved in the inter-organizational process. So in the end he made his decision. But again, he was faced with a situation where there were no good options. All (options) were very difficult.
Austin’s remarks came a week after the Taliban seized control of Kabul as the US military worked to oust US citizens and its Afghan allies from Afghanistan.
He also spoke about the possibility of extending the US withdrawal from Afghanistan after August 31 (September 9). Provides information in this regard.
The Pentagon said on Saturday that about 17,000 people had left Afghanistan last week and about 22,000 had left the region since the end of July. About 2,500 Americans have fled Afghanistan.
According to Hill, however, Americans and Afghan citizens reportedly face violence and harassment as they enter Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. For this reason, the US Embassy in Kabul on Saturday issued a security warning, pointing to possible security threats outside the airport, urging Americans to refrain from going to or approaching the airport unless a US government representative is asked to do so. Do this by receiving individual orders.
The Biden administration has been criticized for its tumultuous and unplanned withdrawal from Afghanistan, and several US officials have called on the administration to do more to oust the Americans and Washington’s Afghan allies.