Biden vows to change strategy in Afghanistan as Taliban take over
WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden has bowed to change his strategy in the fight against terrorism, especially in Afghanistan, which has seen the Taliban insurgents take over, despite Washington’s immense investment in rebuilding the Afghan army.
The Taliban swept through several cities before entering the capital Kabul, just days after the United States withdrew from the Asian nation. The United States had trained over 300,000 troops in Afghanistan, but surprisingly, it did not rise to a challenge.
In a statement, Biden said terrorists have continued to expand their territories, giving the example of Al-Qaida, which has another powerful ally in Somalia on behalf of Al-Shabaab. He said the United States will continue to devote resources to neutralizing the threat.
“Today, the terrorist threat has metastasized far beyond Afghanistan: al Shabaab in Somalia, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Nusra in Syria, ISIS is trying to create a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and establishes subsidiaries in several countries in Africa and Asia. These threats deserve our attention and our resources, “he said.
Although it does not have a military presence in some of the countries fighting terrorism, Biden added, the United States has continued to increase its surveillance, including through airstrikes. He said this strategy can even be used in Afghanistan.
“We are carrying out effective counterterrorism missions against terrorist groups in several countries where we do not have a permanent military presence,” he said in a statement.
“If necessary, we will do the same in Afghanistan. We have developed a counterterrorism capability on the horizon that will allow us to keep our eyes firmly on any direct threat to the United States in the region and to act swiftly and decisively. decisive if necessary. “
In his defense, Biden said he came to power after his predecessor Donald Trump negotiated with the Taliban, adding that under the deal, the United States had to start withdrawing from May 2021. , a decision that could not be reversed.
In addition, he said, the Trump administration had cut U.S. troops by nearly 70% by the time he took office earlier this year. He further noted that the Taliban was capable militarily, which his predecessors were aware of.
“When I came to power, I inherited a deal that President Trump negotiated with the Taliban. Under his deal, US forces would be out of Afghanistan by May 1, 2021, a bit more than three months after taking office, “he said. .
“US forces had already grown under the Trump administration from about 15,500 US troops to 2,500 in the country, and the Taliban were at their strongest military level since 2001.”
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