"Everyone Made A Mistake" When The Taliban Chief Of Staff Was Arrested In Afghanistan.
Key Sentence:
- "Everyone is confused" how soon the Taliban will take over Afghanistan, the head of the British armed forces said.
- General Sir Nick Carter said: "It was a move that took us by surprise, and I don't think we understood exactly what the Taliban were doing."
When asked if military intelligence was wrong, he said the government had received information from multiple sources. "It's not just about military intelligence," he said. British and American troops last left Afghanistan a week ago, ending their 20-year military campaign in the country.
The West's withdrawal from Afghanistan was criticized, and questions were raised about how the Taliban managed to control the country at such speed. Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Dominique Raab told lawmakers the intelligence service assessed that there would be a "permanent deterioration" in the security situation in August - but "Kabul is unlikely to fall this year." Kabul falls in mid-August.
"I think everyone wrong is the right answer," he said. "Even the Taliban did not expect things to change so quickly. "I don't think we understand exactly what the Taliban are doing. They didn't fight for the cities they eventually took over but negotiated for them.
The defense chief added, "I don't think anyone predicted how fragile this Afghan government would be or how fragile it would be in terms of military leadership." When asked if military intelligence was wrong, General Sir Nick replied, "No ... many estimates suggest this will not continue during the year, and this has certainly proved to be true."
He said, "This is a much broader issue than just strict military intelligence.
So you gather sources from the Department of Defense, State Department, interdepartmental service intelligence information, and more comprehensive open-source material. Which means that foreign forces will have to adjust to the prospect of dealing with the Taliban government.
Taliban forces are currently battling insurgents in the Panjshir Valley, the last part of Afghanistan that is still not controlled by the Taliban. On Saturday, the senior US general said civil war was likely to break out in Afghanistan and that these conditions could lead to a resurgence of terrorist groups there. General Mark Mill told Fox News, "Conditions are very likely to lead to a resurgence of terrorism from this general area within 12, 24, 36 months."
General Sir Nick told the that the risk of terrorism hinged on effective governance in Afghanistan. "At first glance, it doesn't look good. But let's see what happens. That can change," he said.