Afghan-US bond will remain despite withdrawal: Biden

dpa Washington During a meeting on Friday at the White House, President Joe Biden sought to reassure Afghanistan’s leaders of his enduring commitment to t...

dpa WashingtonDuring a meeting on Friday at the White House, President Joe Biden sought to reassure Afghanistan’s leaders of his enduring commitment to their country after US forces are withdrawn later this year, the prospect of which has already emboldened Taliban militants.“The partnership between the United States and Afghanistan is not ending,” Biden said in comments before the start of his meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation. Yet he put the onus on Afghans to determine their fate.“Afghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want,” Biden said. “It’s going to be very difficult. But we’re going to stick with you, and we’re going to do our best to see to it you have the tools you need.” Ghani said he respected Biden’s decision to withdraw American forces and paid tribute to the 2,312 Americans who died fighting in Afghanistan over two decades. He also acknowledged the Taliban’s recent gains, stating casually that “things happen” in moments of transition, but he vowed that his country’s fledgling democracy will endure.“We are determined to have unity, coherence,” Ghani said. “You will see: With determination, with unity and with the partnership, we will overcome all odds.” But such resolute words - and Biden’s promises of diplomatic, economic and humanitarian assistance - can’t obscure the reality that Afghanistan is at a crossroads and facing an uncertain future.Since Biden’s April announcement that all US troops would leave Afghanistan by September 11, making good on his campaign promise to end America’s longest war after nearly 20 years, a Taliban blitz has overtaken dozens of districts. Among them are areas on Afghanistan’s northern border with Tajikistan, a key supply route. The Taliban has also made gains across the northern provinces of Kunduz, Balkh and Baghlan.Ghani told reporters in the Oval Office that Afghan security forces had retaken six districts on Friday.The Taliban gains have been accompanied by reports of Afghan troops surrendering en masse. In recent days, activists have posted videos of weary soldiers walking sheepishly across the front lines, shaking the hands of waiting Taliban fighters and surrendering their arms - a result, many allege, of tribal elders negotiating with the Taliban ahead of what many fear will be a rout of government forces.Open-source analysts scouring social media contend that the government has lost hundreds of US-supplied heavy weapons, armored vehicles and trucks, with almost 200 Humvees captured by the Taliban since June. Four helicopters have been downed.Those incidents have sparked urgent questions about the viability of the US-backed and -trained Afghan army and its associated militias after September. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that US intelligence officials believe the Afghan government could collapse within six months after American and NATO forces leave.According to the White House, the Pentagon’s Afghanistan Security Forces Fund will provide financial support to the country’s national army and its police, air force and special security forces. The fund includes more than 3 billion dollars for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, and Biden has asked Congress to provide 3.3 billion dollars for 2022.The White House noted that the US has provided an additional 300 million dollars in civilian assistance for Afghanistan in 2021, and Biden has requested an additional 364 million dollars in development assistance for 2022.