This is from a Indian newspaper but is on the point. Credit to the paper. The extracts below lay bare the entire cause and ending of the US project in Afghanistan.
In many areas, locals absolutely hated Afghan security forces as much as they hated the foreign forces, thanks to the grave human rights violations by Afghan security forces. These locals saw foreign forces as protectors of the Afghan security forces who oppressed them and their villages. The war lords were kept happy in various ways, including by ignoring their practices of 'bacha bazi' and other serious criminal activities.
It got so absurd that in July, an Afghan MoD spokesperson was claiming 200 Taliban deaths at a single location in a single operation. No evidence was ever given of these claims. For example, earlier this year NDS claimed the death of Abdul Hamid Hamasi, the same man who is currently in Kabul executing Taliban orders on the ground.
Of interest to Pakistani's to note:
At the same time, a lot of money was spent on social media cells and lobbying in foreign capitals to direct the narrative towards Pakistan, which was blamed for all the ills in Afghanistan. Pakistan's old relationship with the Taliban is no secret for anyone, but the way it is portrayed isn't accurate at all. It is a relationship of leverage and ideological sympathy, not active support such as financing or arming the other side.
Even if one takes out Pakistan from the equation, Taliban still won't go away since they are a movement that was born in Kandahar and to this date, the majority Taliban are Afghans. Therefore, the investments in this area by the regime also proved to be a waste. The regime gave more attention to online and lobbying battles over the actual fight on the battlefield.
For many years, many Afghans and foreign commentators said that corruption in Afghanistan was in the lower and mid-levels and the higher ups, especially Ghani, are not involved. The reports of Ghani and Hamdullah Moheb fleeing with millions of dollars came as an embarrassing wake-up call for them.
Full article https://www.indiatoday.in/news-anal...rawal-india-pakistan-china-1843785-2021-08-21
An ugly reality check
The regime that was backed for years by not just the US and NATO but also by all the international community turned out to be fiction. Many US officials now admit off the record that they were invested in a delusion for so long, and that the Afghan security forces were never truly capable of taking on Taliban on their own.In many areas, locals absolutely hated Afghan security forces as much as they hated the foreign forces, thanks to the grave human rights violations by Afghan security forces. These locals saw foreign forces as protectors of the Afghan security forces who oppressed them and their villages. The war lords were kept happy in various ways, including by ignoring their practices of 'bacha bazi' and other serious criminal activities.
More attention to lobbying than the actual fight
During the past few years, the Afghan Ministry of Defense and its spokesperson, Afghan Interior Ministry, different Corps of Afghan Army (ANA) and Afghan intelligence (NDS) used to release several claims on a weekly basis which were either inaccurate or outright lies.It got so absurd that in July, an Afghan MoD spokesperson was claiming 200 Taliban deaths at a single location in a single operation. No evidence was ever given of these claims. For example, earlier this year NDS claimed the death of Abdul Hamid Hamasi, the same man who is currently in Kabul executing Taliban orders on the ground.
Of interest to Pakistani's to note:
At the same time, a lot of money was spent on social media cells and lobbying in foreign capitals to direct the narrative towards Pakistan, which was blamed for all the ills in Afghanistan. Pakistan's old relationship with the Taliban is no secret for anyone, but the way it is portrayed isn't accurate at all. It is a relationship of leverage and ideological sympathy, not active support such as financing or arming the other side.
Even if one takes out Pakistan from the equation, Taliban still won't go away since they are a movement that was born in Kandahar and to this date, the majority Taliban are Afghans. Therefore, the investments in this area by the regime also proved to be a waste. The regime gave more attention to online and lobbying battles over the actual fight on the battlefield.
For many years, many Afghans and foreign commentators said that corruption in Afghanistan was in the lower and mid-levels and the higher ups, especially Ghani, are not involved. The reports of Ghani and Hamdullah Moheb fleeing with millions of dollars came as an embarrassing wake-up call for them.
Full article https://www.indiatoday.in/news-anal...rawal-india-pakistan-china-1843785-2021-08-21