First Task for Afghan Forces Is to Slow Talibans Momentum -Pentagon Chief

Updated: July 25th, 2021 04:50 PM IST

Austin: Afghan Forces First Task Is To Slow Taliban’s Momentum

First Task for Afghan Forces Is to Slow Talibans Momentum -Pentagon Chief Photo

EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, ALASKA (REUTERS) – US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday (July 24) that the Afghan security forces’ first job was to make sure they could slow the Taleban’s momentum before attempting to retake territory, as Afghan forces plan to consolidate forces around strategically important parts of the country.

Reuters reported that Afghanistan’s military is overhauling its war strategy against the Taleban to concentrate forces around the most critical areas like Kabul and other cities, border crossings and vital infrastructure.

“In terms of whether or not it will stop the Taleban, I think the first thing to do is to make sure that they can slow the momentum,” Mr Austin said, speaking as the US military is set to end its mission in Afghanistan on Aug 31, on orders from President Joe Biden.

The politically perilous strategy appears to be a military necessity as over-stretched Afghan troops try to prevent the loss of provincial capitals, which could deeply fracture the country.

Taleban insurgents are gaining control of more and more territory, which the Pentagon estimated on Wednesday now extends to over half of half Afghanistan’s district centres. The Taleban are also putting pressure on the outskirts of half of the provincial capitals, trying to isolate them.

The Taleban’s swift territorial gains are rattling Afghans just as the United States withdraws from a war that succeeded in punishing Al-Qaeda following its Sept 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington but failed to deliver anything close to peace for Afghanistan.

The United States has continued to carry out air strikes to support Afghan government forces that have been under pressure from the Taleban as US-led foreign forces carry out the final stages of their withdrawal from the country.

Mr Biden on Friday authorised up to US$100 million (S$136.13 million) from an emergency fund to meet “unexpected urgent” refugee needs stemming from the situation in Afghanistan, including for Afghan special immigration visa applicants.

For years, the US military has been trying to get Afghan troops off of far-flung checkpoints – static positions that can easily be overrun by Taleban forces.

Top Tweets About The Story

Top Taliban Stories