Afghanistan’s former president deems U.S. invasion a ‘failure’
Mission not accomplished.
That’s former Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s verdict on the long and bloody U.S. campaign to fight extremism and bring peace to his country, according to an interview published Sunday.
The U.S. troop withdrawal, announced by President Biden to take place by this Sept. 11, leaves Afghanistan “in total disgrace and disaster,” Karzai told The Associated Press.
“The international community came here 20 years ago with this clear objective of fighting extremism and bringing stability ... but extremism is at the highest point today. So they have failed,” he told The Associated Press.
Calling for the end of the longest war in the history of the U.S., Biden said in April that the country can’t keep pouring resources into what he called a “forever war.”
Despite his seething criticism, Karzai, who took power following the U.S. overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, said he is glad to see foreign troops go.
“We will be better off without their military presence,” he said. “I think we should defend our own country and look after our own lives.
“Their presence [has given us] what we have now,” he added. “We don’t want to continue with this misery and indignity that we are facing. It is better for Afghanistan that they leave.”
While generals who commanded forces in Afghanistan have blasted the decision to withdraw, White House officials insist it’s the right move.
“We achieved the objectives that we set out to achieve,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. “Al Qaeda has been significantly degraded … and of course, Osama Bin Laden was brought to justice 10 years ago.”
U.S. forces killed Bin Laden in 2011. Pressed by the U.S., the Taliban agreed to denounce terrorist organizations, but it and Al Qaeda are still linked, according to the United Nations.
With News Wire Services
