With no change in its name, the camp will be used as a base for Afghan Special Operations Forces…reports Asian Lite News
The US forces in Afghanistan have handed over a key operating base to the Afghan National Army in the restive southern Helmand province, reported local media.
“Camp Antonik in Helmand province was officially handed over to the Afghan Army’s 215 Maiwand Corps on Sunday,” Tolo News reported.
With no change in its name, the camp will be used as a base for Afghan Special Operations Forces, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying on Monday.
Helmand province, notorious for poppy growing, is a known Taliban insurgents’ stronghold.
The violence lingers in war-torn Afghanistan as the US and NATO troops have been leaving the country.
About 3,500 American forces and 7,000 NATO troops will be withdrawn before September 11, the day which is the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that drew the US into war in Afghanistan.
The White House has said the US military will send additional forces to Afghanistan to protect US and coalition forces during the withdrawal.
“Elements of an Army Ranger Task Force will temporarily deploy to Afghanistan to assist with the force protection of forces on the ground as we initiate withdrawal operations,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin (Photo: @SecDef/Twitter)
She also said Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had directed that a carrier strike group would provide sustained additional force protection capabilities in the region throughout the withdrawal.
“While these actions will initially result in increased forces levels, we remain committed to having all US military personnel out of Afghanistan by September 11, 2021,” she added.
The Pentagon last week said that B-52 bombers and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier will deploy to the region to protect U.S. and coalition forces as they withdraw from Afghanistan.
US troops in Afghanistan.
Citing defence officials, CNN reported that fewer than 100 troops and military equipment had been pulled out of the country largely by aircraft to implement the withdrawal order announced by President Joe Biden earlier this month.
The US State Department on Tuesday ordered non-essential staff to leave the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. US Charge d’Affaires to Afghanistan Ross Wilson tweeted that the departure was approved “in light of increasing violence & threat reports in Kabul.”
Jean-Pierre also said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had directed that a carrier strike group would provide sustained additional force protection capabilities in the region throughout the withdrawal….reports Asian Lite News
The White House has said the US military will send additional forces to Afghanistan to protect US and coalition forces during the withdrawal.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One that “a drawdown is underway,” saying that the US military would deploy additional military assets to Afghanistan and the region to cover the withdrawal, Xinhua reported.
“Elements of an Army Ranger Task Force will temporarily deploy to Afghanistan to assist with the force protection of forces on the ground as we initiate withdrawal operations,” she noted.
Jean-Pierre also said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had directed that a carrier strike group would provide sustained additional force protection capabilities in the region throughout the withdrawal.
“While these actions will initially result in increased forces levels, we remain committed to having all US military personnel out of Afghanistan by September 11, 2021,” she added.
The Pentagon last week said that B-52 bombers and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier will deploy to the region to protect U.S. and coalition forces as they withdraw from Afghanistan.
Citing defense officials, CNN reported that fewer than 100 troops and military equipment had been pulled out of the country largely by aircraft to implement the withdrawal order announced by President Joe Biden earlier this month.
Afghan security force members take part in a military operation in Ghazni province, eastern Afghanistan
The US State Department on Tuesday ordered non-essential staff to leave the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. US Charge d’Affaires to Afghanistan Ross Wilson tweeted that the departure was approved “in light of increasing violence & threat reports in Kabul.”
Biden previously announced the withdrawal would begin on May 1, the deadline date for a full U.S. withdrawal under an agreement reached between the former Donald Trump administration and the Afghan Taliban.
The Taliban had warned of consequences if the Biden administration fails to follow through that deadline.
There are roughly 3,500 US troops in Afghanistan, and about 7,000 NATO troops in the country rely on US logistics and security support.
Ghani also reiterated that the Afghan government is committed to the peace talks with the Taliban and that it is now up to the latter to act on it.
US President Joe Biden on April 14 announced the unconditional withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan by September which will end the 20-year old war.
Biden said that it has been 10 years since former Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden’s death, and it is time to end America’s war in the country and to bring US troops home.
Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that achieving a peace deal after the withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan is one of the priorities of the group but added that it will select the military option if the efforts could not get the expected outcome, TOLO News reported.
Morrison said Australia would follow the US in ending its military presence in Afghanistan after 20 years…reports Asian Lite News
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Thursday that the country’s remaining troops in Afghanistan will leave in September.
Morrison said Australia would follow the US in ending its military presence in Afghanistan after 20 years, reports Xinhua news agency.
“Over the past two years we’ve been reducing our military presence in Afghanistan from a high of over 1,500 personnel to around 80 personnel currently,” he told reporters.
“In line with the US and our other allies and partners, the last remaining Australian troops will depart Afghanistan in September 2021.”
Australian Defence Force personnel arrived in Afghanistan in 2001.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison
More than 39,000 Australian troops had been deployed to Afghanistan, 41 of whom died in the country.
He acknowledged that the conflict has “exacted an enormous toll” on the Afghan people and said that Australia would continue to support peace talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban.
The Australian Defence Force last year released the findings of a four-year inquiry that found “credible evidence” of the special forces soldiers’ murdering of 39 Afghans, including children, in 23 incidents, and none of those killings occurred in “the heat of a battle”.
The killings have been described by many as war crime.
“The United States will begin our final withdrawal, begin it on May 1 of this year,” said Biden…reports Asian Lite News
US President Joe Biden has announced that all US troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan before September 11, a move to end the longest war in American history.
“The United States will begin our final withdrawal, begin it on May 1 of this year,” Biden said on Wednesday in his remarks at the White House, Xinhua news agency reported.
“US troops, as well as forces deployed by our NATO allies and operational partners, will be out of Afghanistan before we mark the 20th anniversary of that heinous attack on September 11th.”
“It is time to end America’s longest war. It is time for American troops to come home,” he said, noting that the US has achieved counterterrorism objectives in Afghanistan.
US troops in Afghanistan.
In his remarks, Biden made clear that the withdrawal is not subject to any changes of conditions on the ground.
“We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan hoping to create ideal conditions for the withdrawal and expecting a different result,” he said.
“I’m now the fourth United States president to preside over American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans, two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth.”
The upcoming September 11 is the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that drew the United States into war in Afghanistan. Biden said that 2,488 US military personnel were killed, and 20,722 have been wounded in this longest war in American history.
Biden highlighted that the US would continue to support the Afghan government and provide assistance to the Afghan military after the withdrawal. “While we will not stay involved in Afghanistan militarily, our diplomatic and humanitarian work will continue.”
Afghan security force members take part in a military operation in Ghazni province, eastern Afghanistan
Meanwhile, he voiced US support for the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban facilitated by the United Nations.
Biden spoke with Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani earlier in the day. The two leaders discussed continued commitment to a strong bilateral partnership following the departure of US troops from Afghanistan, according to a readout issued by the White House.
The latest decision extends the deadline negotiated between the previous administration and the Afghan Taliban last year to pull US troops out of the country on May 1.
The United States and the Taliban signed an agreement in late February 2020, which called for a full withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan by May 2021 if the Taliban meets the conditions of the deal, including severing ties with terrorist groups.
The Biden administration had concluded that the Taliban had not met its commitment under the US-Taliban deal.
The Pentagon said that there are roughly 2,500 US troops in Afghanistan, but US media recently said the number did not include 1,000 more US special forces in the country. Besides, about 7,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan rely on US logistics and security support.
Kurdish security forces, known as Peshmerga, assemble outside the town of Bashiqah, some 30 km northeast of Mosul, Iraq
The decision was made following the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein, while the US side was headed by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken…reports Asian Lite News
The US and Iraq have agreed to redeploy the remaining Washington-led coalition combat troops outside the war-torn country to contribute in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) terror group, an official statement said.
The joint statement issued on Wednesday said the decision was made following the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue, Xinhua news agency.
The Iraqi delegation was led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein, while the US side was headed by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
The strategic dialogue via video teleconference, which was held in accordance with the Strategic Framework Agreement signed in 2008 between the two sides, also covered security and counter-terrorism, economics and energy, political issues, and cultural relations, according to the statement.
It said the two sides “reaffirmed their mutual intention to continue bilateral security coordination and cooperation”, stressing that the redeployment of the US and coalition forces is based on “the increasing capacity of the Iraqi forces”.
“The mission of US and coalition forces has now transitioned to one focused on training and advisory tasks, thereby allowing for the redeployment of any remaining combat forces from Iraq, with the timing to be established in upcoming technical talks,” the statement added.
It was a privilege to speak with Iraqi Foreign Minister Dr. Fuad Hussein at my first U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue as Secretary of State. I'm optimistic about the road ahead after the review of the progress we've made in each area of our broad and strategic partnership. pic.twitter.com/Z6HozvRZRk
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 7, 2021
The Iraqi government in turn committed to protecting the international coalition personnel, convoys, and diplomatic facilities, it said, adding that the two sides emphasised that the current military bases, on which US and coalition personnel are present, are Iraqi bases and their presence is only for supporting Iraq’s efforts in the fight against the IS group.
The relation between Baghdad and Washington strained after January 3, 2020, when an American drone struck a convoy at Baghdad airport, which killed Qasem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq’s paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces.
The Iraqi parliament passed a resolution on January 5, 2020, requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in Iraq.
Fuad HusseinMinister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Iraq(Twitter)
The US airstrike also pushed unidentified militias to launch a series of rocket and mortar attacks on Iraqi military bases housing US troops across Iraq, as well as the American embassy in the Green Zone in central Baghdad.
The tension pushed the two sides to launch sessions of strategic dialogue starting from last June 12, and the US pledged to cut its troops in the country.
The US-led coalition forces have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces in the battles against IS militants, mainly providing training and advising to the Iraqi forces.
The US troops play a crucial role in the future of Afghanistan. They stand between peace & Terror Caliphate of Taliban. The Afghan issue has put President Biden in a quandary: If he withdraws the troops by May 1, as stipulated in the Doha agreement between the Trump administration, Taliban and the Afghan government, he would domestically fall into the Republican political trap. If he does not withdraw, not only will be expose American troops to protracted danger for perhaps years but also he may have to take the blame for any decision of an angered Taliban to attack US forces …. Reports Dr Badusha Ahmed Khan
US President Joe Biden must be asking himself one question: Will the Taliban in Afghanistan revive its attempt to convert the Islamic Republic into an Emirate with an Islamic leader and instil terror as a tool of governance once the American forces leave the battle-scarred region? He is not getting any clear answer.
The capacity of the Taliban to inflict terror is evident even now, when anywhere between 2500 and 3500 US troops are in Afghanistan and the US air force carries out support sorties to complement the Afghan military’s attacks on Taliban bases.
The Taliban issue has put President Biden in a quandary: If he withdraws the troops by May 1, as stipulated in the Doha agreement between the Trump administration, Taliban and the Afghan government, he would domestically fall into the Republican political trap. If he does not withdraw, not only will be expose American troops to protracted danger for perhaps years but also he may have to take the blame for any decision of an angered Taliban to attack US forces – something it has not done so far.
US troops in Afghanistan(IANS)
Biden’s White House press conference in March third week was marred by the American confusion over its Taliban policy. Biden was asked about the May 1 deadline for withdrawal of the US troops.
“If we leave, we’re going to do so in a safe and orderly way,” he said. But he quickly clarified: “It’s not my intention to stay there for a long time, the question is how and under what circumstance do we meet that agreement that was made by President Trump to leave…but we are not staying a long time.”
Does he envisage presence of American troops in the later part of 2021 and thereafter?
“I can’t picture that being the case.” But are the troops leaving by May 1? “We will leave. The question is when we leave.” So, the troops are ready to move by the deadline? “…just in terms of tactical reasons” there could be a delay, was his response.
While international defence policy experts write reams about the American presence or absence after May 1 in Afghanistan, President Biden is grappling with practical concerns than policy ones, those close to him confide.
His Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said in Kabul when asked if troop withdrawal is linked to end to Taliban-sponsored violence: “I won’t comment on that. But what I will say is that it’s obvious that the level of violence remains pretty high in the country.”
US Defence Secy visits Ghani(IANS)
General Richard Clark, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, in a recent Senate testimony said: “It is clear the Taliban have not upheld what they said they would do and reduce the violence. While on the positive side they have not attacked U.S. forces, it is clear that they took a deliberate approach and increased their violence since the peace accords were signed.”
Representative Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said of the May 1 deadline: “Running for the exits pell-mell by May 1 is dangerous. It is dangerous to our troops [and] I don’t want to leave a bunch of, you know, high-grade military equipment behind for whoever grabs it either.”
All these personages are saying what President wants to hear as he reviews the withdrawal issue: Logistics and logistics alone could delay withdrawal of US troops.
What precisely are the brass tacks issues that Biden is grappling with? First of all, the Emirate conversion issue.
No doubt the US joined Russia, China and Pakistan in the second half of March to oppose the restoration of an Islamic Emirate under the Taliban, but Biden knows that is the core issue. He has proposed an international peace conference in Istanbul, Turkey in April, 2021 with the Taliban and the Afghan government. This would be his administration’s initiative, essentially to differentiate it with the attempts made by the Trump administration. The Afghan government has accepted the invite, but the Taliban is yet to respond.
US troops in Afghanistan(IANS)
Biden’s idea seems to be to make his new administration control the Afghan peace process. In other words, get his stamp all over it. He wants to ensure that the Taliban and the Afghans form a joint government in Kabul. The Taliban is aware that it was not invited to the last such conference the US hosted in Bonn, Germany in 2001 to form an Afghan government led by Hamid Karzai after the Taliban was ousted following the 9/11 attacks. The same Taliban is key to the Istanbul conference today.
Biden’s experts are telling him the Taliban “is stronger now than at any point since 2001….with up to eighty-five thousand full-time fighters, it controls one-fifth of the country and continues to launch attacks”.
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has already issued a caution: “Analysts warn that violence could escalate dramatically in 2021 and that the peace process could collapse, increasing the likelihood of an expanded civil war, casualties, and activities by terrorist groups.”
The CFR, in its March, 2021 edition points out that “the group (Taliban) has withstood counterinsurgency operations from the world’s most powerful security alliance, the NATO, and three US administrations in a war that has killed more than 6,000 US troops and contractors and over 1,100 NATO troops…. some 46,000 civilians have died, and an estimated 73,000 Afghan troops and police officers have been killed since 2007”.
The Taliban’s own losses are said in the tens of thousands, but “the group is stronger now than at any point in the last 19 years….it has between 55,000 and 85,000 full-time fighters”.
US troops in Afghanistan.
Referring to the terrorist group’s geographical influence, the CFR says: “In early 2021, the Taliban controlled an estimated 19 per cent of districts, while the government controlled 33 per cent, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Long War Journal, a U.S.-based publication that has covered the U.S. fight against al-Qaeda and other militant groups since 2007.”
A UN mission, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says Taliban violence has increased several times 2020 onwards and proves it by providing data that shows “8820 civilian deaths and injuries” occurred in 2020 alone. If anyone thinks the figure is high, it should be remembered that it is a 1,000 less than the 2019 figure.
The second headache for President Biden is the inability of the American troops to choke the financial resources of the Taliban. Opium poppy cultivation and narcotics are the Taliban’s primary source of revenue.
A UN report estimated “that it earned $400 million in 2018 from the illegal drug trade”. It gets additional revenue through taxes it levies “on commercial activities in its territories, such as farming and mining and other activities like “illicit mining, the extortion of local businesses, and donations from abroad”.
This, in spite of the fact that the Americans poured billions of dollars to stop the narcotics trade. It is estimated that the US spent $10 billion on anti-narcotics operations in the last decade or more. However, cultivation of opium poppy quadrupled in this period. What is worse, Afghanistan now has the dubious record of suppling “80 per cent of the world’s heroin”.
The Taliban have so effectively pulverised the Afghan military forces that reports from Kabul claim the government is finding it difficult to find new recruits for the army.
Since 2016, the Taliban have killed on an average 20-25 Afghan security forces every day. As the fatalities began to double two years later, the Afghans and the Americans jointly decided to keep the actual fatalities under wraps for fear of demoralising the Afghan forces. Afghanistan’s main army recruitment centre in Helmand gets not more than two or three applications a day. The government also began to face attrition in terms of desertions and failure to re-enlist – another fact it does not advertise.
President Biden has also to find out how the Afghans and the Taliban share power if things actually reach that stage of negotiations in Istanbul. There are other questions in his mind as well: “What will happen to Afghanistan’s democratic institutions and constitution? How women’s, LGBTQ+ individuals’, and religious minority groups’ rights will be protected?
Taliban representatives have said they would protect women’s rights under Sharia but have given few details on what doing so would look like in practice.”
Other questions include whether the Taliban forces will be “disarmed and reintegrated into society”, who will “lead the country’s army”.
The real question is whether for the Taliban the proposed peace has a narrow meaning: “Peace does not mean an end to the fighting, it means an end to the US occupation”, as a journalist put it. Once the Americans leave along with their troops, will the Taliban not only re-occupy the bases they were evicted from but also try to re-establish the Islamic emirate, handing over power to an orthodox cleric who abides by principles of terror than peace?
“It’s going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline. Just in terms of tactical reasons, it’s hard to get those troops out.”said Biden…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden has indicated that the US is unlikely to meet the May 1 deadline set by his predecessor Donald Trump to get American troops out of Afghanistan.
Addressing a news conference in Washington on Thursday, Biden said: “It’s going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline. Just in terms of tactical reasons, it’s hard to get those troops out.”
He said that the US was consulting its NATO allies who also have troops there “and if we leave, we’re going to do so in a safe and orderly way”.
Afghan security force members take part in a military operation in Ghazni province, eastern Afghanistan
Replying to a question, the President said that he could not see the troops still being in Afghanistan next year.
“It is not my intention to stay there for a long time. But the question is how and in what circumstances do we meet that agreement that was made by President Trump to leave under a deal that looks like it’s not being able to be worked out to begin with? How is that done?”
He appeared to question the legitimacy of the democratically elected Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani by disparaging referring to him as “the ‘leader’, quote, in Afghanistan and Kabul”.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin “just met with Ghani and I’m waiting for the briefing on that. He is the the ‘leader’, quote, in Afghanistan and Kabul”, he said.
US troops in Afghanistan.
More than 20 years after the US and NATO troops were sent to Afghanistan to root out the Al Qaeda terror organisation and the Taliban that provided it bases, about 2,500 American troops remaining there, although down from about 100,000 at the height of the deployment in 2010.
Trump started negotiations with the Taliban for a peace settlement in Afghanistan and had set the May 1, 2021, deadline for the troops to return home.
Biden has kept on Zalmay Khalilzad, who was appointed by Trump as the special envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation, and is still trying to seal a peace deal.
