Ex-US commander admits failure in Afghanistan
Frank McKenzie, a former top general who led the United States Central Command from 2019 to April 2022, stated that Pakistan was correct all along about Afghanistan, admitting the US failure in the war-torn country.
“Pakistanis never thought we’d stay; they always thought we’d leave,” McKenzie told NBC News on Friday, adding, “You know what? We left because they were correct.”
He claimed that the Taliban have always had a safe haven in Pakistan and that the US has never been able to resolve this issue or reach an agreement with Pakistan on the matter in the two decades of conflict.
McKenzie also acknowledged that the United States engaged in failed nation-building in Afghanistan and insisted on a Western model for the country, which was incorrect.
“We began to engage in nation-building operations, and while some of that was probably necessary for a narrow sense to protect our interests, the broader things we did probably didn’t help us in the long run.” “They dispersed our efforts,” he explained.
“I’m not sure Afghanistan is governable or sustainable under a Western model.” From an Afghan model, I know Afghanistan is governable and sustainable. “However, we paid insufficient attention to Afghan realities on the ground,” he said.
McKenzie stated that ignoring the Afghan reality was costly and a sign of “hubris on our part and on the part of the international community.”
He went on to say that he was “proud of” the American men and women who were present on the ground on the day of the contentious withdrawal from Afghanistan when Afghans died trying to hang on to the plane. He called the event’s high level of politicization “regrettable.”
McKenzie acknowledged that getting Afghan allies out of the country is a “slow” process, but made no promises on that “moral obligation.”
Gen. Frank McKenzie #CENTCOMCDR, administered the Oath of Enlistment to 44 new recruits from the #TampaBay area at a #ArmedForcesDay ceremony at @MacDill_AFB Thursday May 13. pic.twitter.com/QbOK5BIEsF
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 15, 2021
The top US general agreed that Afghanistan was a bipartisan failure for four US administrations over two decades, citing “military and diplomatic failures.”
He emphasized that the war-torn country is still a breeding ground for threats to the US and that it is too early to predict what will happen in Afghanistan. Extremist groups protected by the Taliban, he claims, will pose new challenges to future US leadership.
The United States declared the end of the 20-year war in Afghanistan on August 30, 2021.
