When 2021 began, few would have thought by the end of year the Afghan Taliban would be in charge in Kabul.
However, such was the swiftness of the Taliban takeover that all the intelligence assessments of the US and other players in Afghanistan proved wrong.
When President Joe Biden walked into the White House in 2021, he had a choice either to reverse the Doha deal his predecessor had signed with the Tali-ban or stick with it.
The Doha deal stipulated a timeframe for US troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In return, the Taliban promised not to allow the Afghan soil to be used again by terrorist groups and enter into talks with other groups.
Under the deal, the US was to complete the troops’ withdrawal by May 1, 2021.
After assuming office, Biden, however, ordered a review of the Afghan situation and following the months of assessments by the Pentagon and the State Department, he had to stick with the Doha plan albeit with a change of withdrawal date.
Instead of the May 1 deadline set in the Doha deal for the troops’ withdrawal, Biden approved that the last US soldier would leave Afghanistan by Sep-tember 11.
The announcement was met with a strong reaction from the Taliban, who called it a violation of the Doha deal and threatened to resume attacks against the US led foreign forces if they stayed in the war-torn country beyond May 1.
Also read: Blaming Pakistan for Taliban takeover ‘illogical’: PM Imran However, the Biden administration was talking to the Taliban leaders from behind the scenes to ensure that troops’ withdrawal was smooth and without any hiccup. As the US began troops’ withdrawal un der a revised plan, the Taliban on the other hand started making inroads — capturing districts after districts.
As the drawdown picked up pace, so did the march of t e Taliban.—Agencies
