Afghanistan: the bitterness of some allied countries in Washington towards Joe Biden
British Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace (here, at a meeting at the Pentagon, July 12, 2021, in Washington), and some British generals have not shied away from criticizing the way the US withdrawal has been decided.
AP - Alex Brandon
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
While the United States is criticized for the debacle caused by the withdrawal of American troops, Joe Biden assured that the allies of Washington do not question the American "
credibility
" of carrying out the operation.
But in fact, some countries do not hide their bitterness towards the Americans.
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After criticism and concerns expressed by New Zealand and Australian leaders, many voices are raised in the United Kingdom, the second country providing troops to Afghanistan, and the most bereaved by this war after the United States.
This week, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and some British generals were quick to criticize the way in which this American withdrawal was decided, also targeting the previous Trump administration.
For his part, Boris Johnson, who had to wait more than 24 hours before having Joe Biden on the phone after the capture of Kabul, is careful not to openly criticize the American president.
Even if the British Prime Minister admitted that this military withdrawal had accelerated things in Afghanistan, and that everyone had known for a long time that "this
is how it would be
".
►
To read also: Afghanistan: for Joe Biden, it was impossible to leave the country without a form of "chaos"
Paris very annoyed by the American ally
Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden spoke on Thursday evening August 19.
And according to the British daily
The Guardian
, the White House would have omitted in the report of this conversation certain remarks of the French president, who underlined to his American counterpart, according to the Elysee, "
the moral responsibility
" which rests with the allies vis-à-vis to the Afghans who must be protected.
►
To read also: Evacuation of Afghanistan: Biden “does not guarantee the final outcome” of the operation
Taliban co-founder in Kabul for government talks
The situation at Kabul airport remains extremely complicated.
Joe Biden, who is facing his first international crisis since the start of his mandate, acknowledged that the airlift to evacuate Afghan nationals and foreigners was "
one of the most important and difficult in history
".
The Taliban leadership met this Saturday in Kabul to discuss with politicians and jihadists the formation of an "
inclusive
" government.
The co-founder and number two of the Taliban, Abdul Ghani Baradar, arrived that same day in the Afghan capital after spending 48 hours in Kandahar, the cradle of the movement.
This mullah, who until then headed the political office of the Taliban in Qatar, will "
meet jihadist leaders and political leaders for the establishment of an inclusive government
," a senior Taliban official told AFP.
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