The US Department of Defense has confirmed the completion of the first phase of the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. This is stated in a statement by Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman, posted on the agency’s website.

“The United States agreed to reduce its contingent in Afghanistan to 8,600 people and leave five bases, as provided for in the agreement. We have fulfilled this commitment. The US contingent continues to be about 8,500, and five bases previously occupied by the US military were handed over to our Afghan partners, ”the report said.

Earlier, TOLONews, citing a U.S. official in Kabul, said the Americans had left bases in Helmand, Uruzgan, Paktika and Lagman provinces.

A Pentagon statement said that Washington still has the opportunity to protect the US military stationed in the country in Afghanistan.

  • US Army Soldiers in Afghanistan
  • © Baz Ratner

“The priority of the US military presence in Afghanistan is still not the size of the contingent, but its technical capabilities. We retain these opportunities and influence necessary to protect ourselves, our allies and partners, as well as the national interests of the United States, ”the document says.

At the same time, the military department noted that Washington will continue to support the armed forces of official Kabul.

“We will continue to fulfill our anti-terrorist mission, while at the same time carrying out Operation Resolute Support” in training, counseling and assistance, in which 38 states participate, and supporting the Afghan National Security Forces in the process of their work to ensure peace in the country ” Said Hoffman.

He stressed that the United States adheres to its earlier commitments to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

“The United States is fulfilling its obligations. All parties must help reduce violence and embark on intra-Afghan negotiations that will achieve a coherent and lasting peace in Afghanistan, ”said Jonathan Hoffman.

"US Surrender"

The agreement mentioned by Hoffman in his statement was reached on February 29 in the capital of Qatar. The US special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad put his signatures under it, and from the side of the radical Taliban movement - Mullah Abdul Gani Baradar.

Under the terms of the deal, the United States and its allies pledged to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan within 14 months. It is expected that this obligation will be implemented in several stages.

First, the United States must no later than 4.5 months after the signing of the treaty reduce to 8,600 the number of troops deployed in Afghanistan, as well as withdraw troops from five military bases. Proportionally committed to reduce their contingents and allies of Washington. The Pentagon said in a statement about the completion of this phase.

  • US-Taliban Peace Agreement Ceremony
  • Reuters
  • © Ibraheem al Omari

The next step should be the withdrawal of the remaining coalition forces. The agreement gives 9.5 months. Washington also promised to lift the sanctions on Taliban members and help remove them from the UN sanctions list.

For their part, the Taliban pledged to fight Al Qaeda ** and other terrorist groups.

According to HSE professor Dmitry Evstafiev, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan means Washington's recognition of the failure of its policy in this country.

“The Taliban obtained from the Americans everything they wanted. This is actually the capitulation of the United States: both in fact and in form. This is a recognition of the inability to leave a competent system of power there. Please note: the agreement on the withdrawal of troops is signed not with the government in Kabul, but with the Taliban. With people who are fighting against the government in Kabul, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

The analyst emphasized that the results of the presence of the US military on Afghan territory were "deplorable."

“The result was a complete disruption of Afghanistan’s governance system and partial territorial disintegration. It is clear that now it is time for them to leave from there "normally." This old tactic. American generals have long come up with a strategy: declare that they won, and then leave, ”he said in an interview with RT.

In turn, a member of the Presidium of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems Araik Stepanyan pointed out that the United States has not managed to create a stable political system in the country for 20 years, and after the departure of the Western coalition, the conflict between the Taliban and the pro-American government in Kabul.

“For almost 20 years, American politics have not led to anything good. They believe that they have prepared the Afghan authorities to maintain power and agreed with the Taliban to behave with restraint. But there is reason to believe that in reality everything will be exactly the opposite: individual field commanders will believe that the time has come to strike the enemy, the fight for drug trafficking will break out. That is, again, shooting and war, a new round of escalation, ”the analyst said in an interview with RT.

Fakes from NYT

Experts recalled a recent scandal that erupted in the United States over publications in The New York Times. In them, citing "anonymous sources" in the US intelligence agencies, it was alleged that Russian intelligence allegedly paid the Taliban money, prompting them to attack US troops. 

  • AFP
  • © JOHANNES EISELE

At the same time, the article noted that Trump was allegedly informed about this, but was inactive. US officials have denied the materials, noting that they were based on unconfirmed reports. They also condemned these publications in the Russian Federation, calling them false.

“This is such a propaganda trick by the Democratic Party. This is a PR against Russia and, naturally, against Trump, whom they want to accuse of inaction. At the same time, the Americans accuse us of what they themselves are guilty of in reality. After all, this is exactly what they did when the Soviet troops fought in Afghanistan. The US openly financed and armed local militants to kill our soldiers. The Americans were proud of it. At the same time, they are now blaming us for this, and without giving any evidence, ”said Stepanyan.

Afghanistan without Americans

The US military operation in Afghanistan began in 2001. The September 11 attacks became a formal reason. The main goals at the same time were announced by the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

At the peak of the campaign in 2010-2013, the total number of US troops and their allies deployed in Afghanistan exceeded 150 thousand people. In the course of hostilities in the territory of this country since 2001, about 2,400 US military personnel were killed, more than 20,000 were injured of varying severity. About another thousand soldiers lost other members of the coalition killed in Afghanistan.

Stopping the costly wars launched by the United States was one of the main points of the Donald Trump election program in 2016. Negotiations about peace in Afghanistan, his administration managed to start in October 2018.

The path to the final peace agreement was not easy. Due to ongoing clashes between the Taliban and US forces, the negotiation process has repeatedly come to the brink of collapse, but in the end both sides managed to show political will, experts say.  

The completion of the terms of the deal with the Taliban should come at a time when a new president will be elected in the United States. According to Dmitry Evstafiev, even if Trump loses in the upcoming elections, the course towards the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan will remain unchanged.

“It is unlikely that there is any option for the development of events in which the US will risk staying in Afghanistan. This is an extremely painful topic for voters of any direction, ”the political scientist said.

According to Dmitry Yevstafyev, the Pentagon’s statement on the reduction in the number of troops indicates that the deal between the United States and the Taliban is “generally respected” by both parties.

“The United States has been preparing to leave Afghanistan for quite some time. And, in fact, all the negotiations with the Taliban were about the possibility of safely leaving there. The story of the US invasion of Afghanistan ends, ”says the analyst.

In turn, an expert on the Middle East, professor at Moscow State University Alexander Vavilov, in a commentary on RT, noted that threats to the implementation of the transaction still exist.

“A lot of circumstances can interfere. For example, it cannot be ruled out that the Taliban will not be able to resist hostile actions against the Americans and the Afghan authorities. There have already been such incidents, so the Americans will think a hundred more times before finally leaving Afghanistan, ”the analyst is sure.

  • Taliban action
  • Reuters

According to the expert, in the event of the complete withdrawal of American and Allied forces, the situation in Afghanistan will remain extremely unstable.

“The government in Kabul is completely dependent on the Americans and to some extent on the EU, so after the departure of the United States it will be in limbo. They will need to think how to live on. Moreover, it is obvious that the Taliban are not in a compromise with the Kabul government. We will observe the gradual transition of the country under the control of the Taliban in various coalitions. Part of the territory will undergo ethnic autonomy, ”says Yevstafyev.

He added that in the event of instability in Afghanistan, the United States and NATO may return in one form or another.

In turn, Vavilov doubted that the Western coalition was going to completely leave Afghanistan in the near future.

At the same time, analysts agreed that in many respects the future of Afghanistan now depends on the Taliban. In particular, an important issue is how they intend to conduct their legitimation at the international level.

“The world community will think a hundred times before recognizing the Taliban.” This organization is listed as terrorist in many countries, including Russia. In the same EU, they obviously will not rush to establish any ties with the Taliban, ”Vavilov concluded.

* "Taliban" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003.

** Al-Qaeda - an organization recognized as terrorist by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 02.14.2003.