“The Taliban have been in the strongest position since 2001”. The CIA admits defeat in Afghanistan
Since the US began withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in early May, the Taliban have made significant gains against the US-backed government. In an interview broadcast on Friday , CIA Director William Burns said he believes the Taliban are in the best military position they have been in since the 2001 war.
“ The Taliban are making significant military progress; they are probably in the strongest military position they have been in since 2001, ”Burns told NPR.
Demonstrating the Taliban's success on the battlefield, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said Wednesday that the group currently controls 200 of the 419 district centers in Afghanistan. Last month, he claimed that the Taliban controlled only 81 district centers. The admission, not so hidden, of a defeat.
Burns assured that the United States will continue to support the Afghan military after the withdrawal and said the CIA will still be involved in the country. “So the US government, as the president has made clear – and the CIA will play a role in that – will continue to strongly support the Afghan government in every possible way. And for the CIA, we will be highly focused beyond the withdrawal of the US military and continuing challenges to terrorism, ”he said.
Both the CIA and the Pentagon hoped to establish new bases in neighboring countries, such as Pakistan. But none of Afghanistan's neighbors wanted to host US forces, and the military must be content with launching air strikes from the Gulf region or the Indian Ocean.
For the CIA, its presence in Afghanistan will be more covert than its military presence. The United States plans to leave about 600 soldiers in the country divided between its embassy in Kabul and the international airport, also located in the Afghan capital. The US Embassy is a huge 14-acre facility that can accommodate thousands of people, with plenty of room for CIA agents. Burns insisted that the CIA "will still be able to do a lot" in Afghanistan after August 31, by which time President Biden said the withdrawal would be completed.
What can the CIA do in Afghanistan? He will certainly try to keep what little government still exists and will mediate with the Taliban. The evident defeat of the US intervention in the country could be mediated by an uncomfortable stay for the neighbors, especially for China, which will have to deal with an Islamic country, and we know how Beijing treats Islam.
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The article "The Taliban are in the strongest position since 2001". CIA admits defeat in Afghanistan comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/i-talebani-sono-nella-posizione-piu-forte-dal-2001-la-cia-ammette-la-sconfitta-in-afganistan/ on Mon, 26 Jul 2021 06:00:11 +0000.