The White House announced preparations for the withdrawal of all its forces from Afghanistan. According to US President Joe Biden, all troops will be withdrawn from the Central Asian country by 9/11. The decision was made following an agreement with the Taliban (a terrorist organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation). Experts predict that the withdrawal of US and NATO forces will lead to increased tensions in the country and the region. We found out how this could threaten Russia.
The new US administration continues to reduce the group of troops deployed in the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia. Earlier it became known that the Pentagon is withdrawing a contingent from Saudi Arabia, as well as reducing the grouping of ships in the Persian Gulf. This was stated by US President Joe Biden.
During the week, the president also announced a complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The troops are due to leave the country by 9/11. A number of skeptics have criticized the choice of the date for such a historic event. The withdrawal is to end on the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. It was after this event that the United States deployed its troops to Afghanistan in order to fight international terrorism.
Now the White House intends to make peace with the Taliban, which is committed to legalizing its status and making peace with the Afghan government. According to the peace plan, the Taliban will partially lay down their arms and will participate in the parliamentary elections as a legal political force.
The decision to withdraw US troops is causing concern in countries that border Afghanistan. Their authorities fear that with the withdrawal of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Islamist radicals may come to power, which threatens the start of a whole series of wars. As military expert Alexei Leonkov noted in a conversation, the threat of terrorist activities in Afghanistan is quite real, but Russia is ready for such a development of events:
– The idea of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan actually belongs to Trump. But he was not allowed to do this. And Biden needs popularity points now. Indeed, in the United States, many are unhappy with constant wars around the world. But at the same time, it must be said that the withdrawn troops are transferred to the disposal of the Indo-Pacific Command of the Pentagon, to whose area of responsibility Afghanistan belongs. So they will be taken to where they can be sent back if necessary. I think – to one of the neighbouring countries.
– And what could the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan be fraught with for the region as a whole and Russia in particular?
– There may be contradictions between those who were supported by the United States and those against whom they fought there. First of all, it is the Taliban movement. An active participant in this confrontation will be representatives of IS (Islamic State), who have found shelter in those provinces of Afghanistan that borders Pakistan. A new nucleus of the next “caliphate” , which has nothing to do with Islam, will be formed. This threat appeared long ago when it became known about the evacuation of the failed “caliphate” from Syria to Afghanistan . So as soon as this threat became known, appropriate measures were taken.
– The other day in Dushanbe, a meeting of the Coordination Committee on Air Defense Issues under the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS member states was held. They also discussed the threat of terrorism and drones used by terrorists.
– There is also such a threat. Russia actively helps its partners – the CSTO and CIS countries. We are conducting multilateral and bilateral exercises to ensure that the level of troops of these countries matches the threats that may arise. As for drones, now the Central Asian states are considering the purchase of air defence systems, training calculations and training the crews of the complexes. The practice has shown that the delivery of the complex does not solve the problem as a whole. We need to teach calculations, in this regard, we also have experience. We saw the result in the fight against drones in Syria and we taught the local military to counter this threat.
– Many are now circulating rumours that a “second Afghan” is coming – that is, a new dispatch of Russian troops to the region.
– Those media outlets that reported similar, exaggerated the topic of “Afgan 2.0” since the beginning of the war in Syria. But this is unfounded.
