US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — The withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan is, in essence, a recognition of defeat, Deutschlandfunk writes: the Taliban have not been defeated, and Afghanistan itself remains an unstable state with a lot of problems.
According to the publication, the termination of the NATO mission in Afghanistan may have direct consequences for Europe, since now the flow of refugees may increase, and the hypothetical victory of the Taliban will strengthen Islamic radicals around the world.
The reduction in the contingent of German troops in Afghanistan marks the beginning of the end of the longest and largest overseas mission of the Bundeswehr, Deutschlandfunk writes. At the same time, the Bundestag extended the mission’s mandate in mid-March, but the Germans are no longer interested in it, the newspaper said.
By the middle of next year, the United States plans to withdraw all of its troops from Afghanistan: without American leadership, the NATO operation in Afghanistan does not make sense, Deutschlandfunk notes. Already, the presence of German troops on Afghan territory is more likely a tribute to allied commitments: advisers from the Bundeswehr in no way increase the fighting efficiency of the Afghan army.
In this light, the complete withdrawal of the Bundeswehr from Afghanistan seems inevitable, the publication said. The United States and its allies leave the country without almost any guarantees from the Taliban: according to Deutschlandfunk, the West thus acknowledges its defeat.
The original goals of the NATO operation in Afghanistan were the destruction of terrorism and the construction of a new, modern, peaceful Afghan society, the publication recalls.
Today, the Taliban still control large territories, Afghanistan is still the world leader in drug production, poverty and corruption have not been eradicated. Religious and ethnic violence was deeply rooted in the country, and democracy was discredited by repeated election fraud.
The withdrawal of NATO troops threatens the last vestiges of stability in Afghanistan, and will also have consequences for Germany and Europe as a whole, Deutschlandfunk writes. The hypothetical collapse of Afghanistan will increase the flow of refugees, and the victory of the Taliban will stimulate the rise of Islamic radicals around the world.
—
Online:
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.
Contact us: [email protected]
The article is written and prepared by our foreign editors from different countries around the world – material edited and published by Ordo News staff in our US newsroom press.