Kabul:
When the Taliban swept into Kabul last month, capturing Afghanistan’s capital devoid of a fight, the sheer speed of the collapse of the Western-backed and educated army stunned the world.
But senior officials in the former Afghan administration told AFP that the lightning victory was not completely unexpected, and the consequence of basic leadership failures, rampant corruption, slick Taliban propaganda — and a crushing “betrayal” by US-led forces with their hasty pullout.
One top rated official close to the centre of energy stated that just two days prior to Taliban forces entered Kabul on August 15, he was present as former president Ashraf Ghani held an emergency meeting with his senior ministers, and military and spy chiefs.
“It was said that we had enough weapons, ammunition, and financial resources to hold Kabul for two years,” stated the official, who claimed $one hundred million in money was accessible to safe Kabul.
“It didn’t protect the city for two days,” he stated.
‘Lying’
The official, who like most sources AFP spoke to for this post did not want to be identified for worry of reprisals, stated he was not shocked by the capitulation.
“Ministers were lying to Ghani, telling him that everything was fine, so they could keep their jobs and their privileges,” he stated.
As the Taliban raced by way of the nation, the inner circle debated policy reforms.
“We didn’t get our priorities right,” he added.
“As the cities fell, one after the other, the National Security Council met to talk about recruitment and institutional reforms.”
Taliban forces swept across the nation in just two weeks, seizing provincial capitals usually devoid of a bullet becoming fired.
Another top rated ex-government official stated no one at the top rated showed leadership.
“None of them spoke to the media to reassure our men. None of them went into the field,” he stated.
Ghani also made simple strategic blunders, the close adviser added.
“I suggested we leave the south, as we didn’t have enough manpower to defend it in the long term.
“But the president disagreed. He stated that all Afghanistan belonged to the government,” he said.
Corruption
But for the Afghan army, holding everywhere against the Taliban was an impossible task.
Despite the billions of dollars of US-led military support, equipment and training, the army’s capacity had been hollowed out by years of rampant corruption.
Senior officers creamed off what they could, stealing salaries from lower ranks, as well as selling fuel and ammunition supplies.
The situation worsened after Washington struck a deal with the Taliban in February 2020 for a troop withdrawal agreement.
“We had been betrayed,” said Sami Sadat, a general recognised for his bravery against the Taliban, who was brought in to lead the special forces in Kabul just days before its fall.
Without the critical protection of US air support — and with the former government’s own air force grounded after foreign contractors maintaining the fleet were pulled out by Washington — the army lost its strategic advantage.
‘Surreal’
“The Taliban had been emboldened,” Sadat said, writing in the New York Times.
“They could sense victory… Before that deal, the Taliban had not won any considerable battles against the Afghan Army. After the agreement? We had been losing dozens of soldiers a day.”
The final days of fighting were “surreal”, Sadat added.
“We engaged in intense firefights on the ground against the Taliban as US fighter jets circled overhead, successfully spectators,” he wrote.
Sadat dismissed the claim by US President Joe Biden that the Afghan had collapsed sometimes “devoid of attempting” to fight.
“We fought, bravely, till the finish,” Sadat said. “We lost 66,000 troops more than the previous 20 years that is one-fifth of our estimated fighting force.”
For the soldiers on the frontlines, they saw little reason to die when top leaders were fleeing.
“When the Taliban got to the gates of Kabul, the soldiers knew the president was leaving — that is why they did not fight,” said a former senior army officer who asked not to be named.
At the same time, the Taliban deployed a savvy use of media messages to persuade soldiers to surrender, undermining morale even further.
“We had currently lost the social media war,” the first presidential confidante said.
“The Taliban had been telling the soldiers that they had been fighting needlessly, for the reason that at a larger level an agreement had currently been signed.”
Abandoned and exhausted, soldiers saw small point in fighting on.
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