WASHINGTON: Two of the most senior senators in the US Congress have called on the Trump administration to fight the insurgency threat to Afghanistan with the same urgency as its war against Daesh (ISIS) terrorism in the Middle East and the world.
If the US involvement in Afghanistan is not intensified the current stalemate in the Afghan government’s battle against the Taliban and other terror groups could “slide into failure”, warned senators John McCain, chairman of the US senate’s armed services committee and Lindsay Graham, a member of the same committee.
In an opinion article in the Washington Post, one of the most influential newspapers in the US, the senators pointed out that the current Afghan government only controls 57 per cent of the country’s territory. A year ago, the Kabul government controlled 72pc of Afghanistan. “This month, two simultaneous suicide attacks by the Taliban in Kabul killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 40. In northern Afghanistan, the Taliban overran another district. These setbacks came on the heels of disturbing losses across the country,” the senators wrote. McCain and Lindsay expressed appreciation for the Afghan security forces role in fighting terrorism. “Make no mistake: Afghans are fighting ferociously to defend their country from our common enemies. At the same time, we must recognize that the United States is still at war in Afghanistan against the terrorist enemies who attacked our nation on Sept. 11 and their ideological heirs. We must act accordingly.” The senators voiced concern over the US role in Afghanistan.
“Unfortunately, in recent years, we have tied the hands of our military in Afghanistan. Instead of trying to win, we have settled for just trying not to lose. “Time and time again, we saw troop withdrawals that seemed to have more to do with U.S. politics than conditions on the ground. The fixation with “force management levels” in Afghanistan, as well as in Iraq and Syria, seemed more about measuring troop counts than measuring success,” they wrote.
