The United States of America (USA), on the one hand, stopped its military operations against the Taliban within the scope of the Doha Treaty with the Taliban; on the other hand, it started to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan (it announced that it had withdrawn 95% of them). As a matter of fact, after USA President Joe Biden announced that he would withdraw all his troops until September 11, 2021, the Taliban’s attacks increased unexpectedly. Thus, the Taliban made a serious progress and took control of more than 200 districts. The Afghan Government states that it was faced with a situation where it was unprepared and could not adequately respond to the Taliban attacks because it prioritized the peace process.
The situation in question has caused significant discussions both in the public opinion of Afghanistan and in the international arena. The most important of these discussions is the claim that the control of the districts was given to the Taliban as a result of a secret agreement and that the local forces mobilized against the Taliban were not supported. In this context, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, due to the lack of concrete progress in the peace talks with the Taliban, called an extraordinary meeting of the Afghan Parliament, which was on recess. Speaking in front of the deputies, Ghani made significant statements about both the general situation of the country and the government’s Taliban policy.
Firstly, Gani addressed the reasons for the current situation. In this context, the Afghan leader said that the USA hastily implemented the withdrawal decision and left all responsibility of the process to Afghans. Frankly, in the peace process carried out in line with the recommendations and guidance of the USA, steps were taken without learning the necessary lessons and acted detached from reality. For this reason, Gani argued that the peace process was built on false assumptions. In his speech, the President of Afghanistan also emphasized that the process contributed to the legitimacy of the Taliban and weakened the authority of the Kabul administration, rather than achieving peace.
On the other hand, the Afghan leader stated that there was no collusion; however, he stated that they faced a serious failure in the field due to their unpreparedness for the advancement of the Taliban. The most critical reality pointed out by Ghani’s statements is that the appeasement policy of the USA against the Taliban is the main reason for the chaos in the country. At this point, it should be underlined that Afghanistan Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar gave different messages regarding the secret agreement that Ghani refused. Because, about a month ago, Atmar and Afghanistan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Muhip announced that the districts were given to the Taliban.
All this indicates that the conflicts between the Afghan Government and the Taliban will intensify. Because Ghani is known as a leader who acts softly against the Taliban. He even defined the Taliban as a political rival and was therefore harshly criticized by the Afghan public opinion. Therefore, through the aforementioned speech, Ghani declared that the Taliban policy of the Kabil administration had changed.
The most striking aspect of the Afghan leader’s speech is his emphasis on popular mobilization. With these words, Ghani signalled that the state has no plans to seize all the districts and that the public uprisings and local militia organizations against the Taliban will be supported. In this context, Ghani called for national unity and underlined the need to strengthen the foundations of the republic, saying that the Afghan people should protect their gains.
Following the speech of the President of Afghanistan, the Afghan Parliament also issued a statement and announced to the world that it stands with the state against the Taliban. This situation means that Kabul will ally with the warlords and fight the Taliban on the field, not at the table.
As a result, after his silence that lasted for about three months, Ghani criticized the USA’s Taliban policy from the highest pitch and said that the Washington administration was responsible for the chaotic situation in the country. However, the attitude of the Afghan leader reveals that the negotiation process has lost its importance in Kabul and that belief in peace has disappeared. In other words, the Afghan government has clearly demonstrated that it will tend to ally with all groups against the Taliban and that the conflicts on the field will come to the fore. However, in order for Kabul to act consistently on this issue, it should be seen whether the US will change the appeasement policy that determines its approach to the Taliban. Because one of the reasons for the failure of the Kabul administration in the current situation is the policy of the USA. Therefore, it is not possible for Kabul, which needs the USA militarily, politically, financially and logistically, to engage in comprehensive operations despite Washington.
