The United States and its partners spent 20 years and nearly $90 billion to build the Afghan security forces. There is plenty of blame to go around for their rapid collapse and the subsequent takeover of the country by the Taliban. The special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a recent report that the primary factor was the U.S. decision to withdraw military forces and contractors through the U.S.-Taliban agreement under Trump and the withdrawal announcement by Biden.
- Jonathan Schroden, director of the Countering Threats and Challenges Program at CNA, said he disagrees because the six main factors listed in the report are all equally important.
- Schroden explained, as the report concluded, that the U.S. prioritized the operational goal of going after the Taliban over long-term sustainability of the forces.
- He said the Defense Department has not shown much appetite for making changes based on lessons learned from Afghanistan, but he is hopeful the Afghanistan War Commission will help.
Watch the full interview for more:
In this handout provided by U.S. Central Command Public Affairs, U.S. Air Force loadmasters and pilots assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron load passengers aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) on August 24, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The United States and allies urged Afghans to leave Kabul airport, citing the threat of terrorist attacks, as Western troops raced to evacuate as many people as possible by August 31 (Photo by Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/U.S. Air Forces Europe-Africa via Getty Images)
Marine Corps leaders visit with Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Bn. 11 while touring Camp Krutke and Camp Leatherneck in 2012. The tour was hosted by the commanding officer of NMCB-11. NMCB-11 was deployed to Afghanistan to conduct general, mobility, survivability engineering operations and defensive operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jonathan Carmichael)
Serving on the frontlines of Afghanistan (Photo from U.S. Department of Defense)
SEE ALSO | Defense and State Department officials on ‘unprecedented’ Afghanistan evacuation
