WASHINGTON, USA
United States President, Joe Biden on Tuesday mounted a fierce
defense of his exit from Afghanistan as the "best decision for
America," the day after the US military withdrawal celebrated by the
Taliban as a major victory.
US soldiers board an US Air Force aircraft at the airport in Kabul on August 30, 2021.
"This is the right decision. A wise decision. And the best
decision for America," Biden said in an address to the nation in
Washington, after he stuck to an August 31 deadline to end two decades of
bloodshed that began and ended with the hardline Islamists in power.
He spoke after the United Nations warned of a looming
"humanitarian catastrophe" in Afghanistan, underscoring the daunting
challenges that the victorious Taliban face as they transform from insurgent
group to governing power.
For America, Biden argued, the only choice in Afghanistan was
"leaving or escalating."
And the president, whose critics have savaged him for his handling
of the withdrawal, said the frenzied airlift -- which saw the United States and
its allies fly more than 120,000 people fleeing the new Taliban regime out of
Afghanistan -- was an "extraordinary success."
"No nation has ever done anything like it in all of history;
only the United States had the capacity and the will and ability to do
it," he said.
The Taliban also saw the airlift as a success: a mark of their
astonishing comeback and defeat of a global superpower.
Taliban fighters fired weapons into the sky in Kabul in the early
hours of Tuesday in jubilation after the last US plane flew out. Later, they
swept into the capital's vast airport.
"Congratulations to Afghanistan... this victory belongs to us
all," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters hours later on
the airport runway.
Badri 313 unit special force paraded the Taliban flag at Kabul airport the morning after the last US troops left.
Mujahid said the Taliban's victory was a "lesson for other
invaders".
In Kandahar, the spiritual birthplace of the movement and the
country's second-largest city, thousands of celebrating supporters swept onto
the streets.
All eyes will now turn to how the Taliban handle their first few
days with sole authority over the country, with a sharp focus on whether they
will allow free departure for those wanting to leave -- including some
foreigners.
The US has said that "under 200" of its citizens
remained in the country, and Britain said the number of UK nationals inside was
in the "low hundreds."
Thousands of Afghans who worked with the US-backed government over
the years and fear retribution also want to get out.
Talks are ongoing as to who will now run Kabul airport, which
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned was of "existential
importance" as a lifeline for aid.
Many Afghans are terrified of a repeat of the Taliban's initial
rule from 1996-2001, which was infamous for their treatment of women and girls,
as well as a brutal justice system.
The group has repeatedly promised a more tolerant brand of
governance compared with their first stint in power, and Mujahid persisted with
that theme.
"We want to have good relations with the US and the world. We
welcome good diplomatic relations with them all," he said.
Mujahid also insisted Taliban security forces would be
"gentle and nice".
But UN chief Antonio Guterres gave a stark assessment of the
challenges they face as they build their new regime.
He expressed his "grave concern at the deepening humanitarian
and economic crisis in the country," adding that basic services threatened
to collapse "completely."
He pleaded for financial support from the international community
for the war-ravaged country, which is dependent on foreign aid.
"I urge all member states to dig deep for the people of Afghanistan in their darkest hour of need," Guterres said in a statement.
Authorities from several countries have already begun meeting with
Taliban leadership, the latest being India.
Qatar's foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman
al-Thani, urged the Taliban to combat terrorism after the US withdrawal, and
called for an inclusive government.
Some Afghans also appealed to the Islamist movement to keep its
promise of a softer rule.
Fawzia Koofi, a rights activist and former negotiator for the
ousted government who has twice survived assassination attempts, called on the
Taliban via Twitter to include all Afghans as they turn to ruling.
"Taliban, hear us out: we must rebuild together!" she
wrote. "This land belongs to all of us."
Other activists struggled to find hope.
"If I let my thoughts linger on what we have lost, I will
lose my mind," Muska Dastageer, who lectured at the American University of
Afghanistan, said on Twitter.
The US-led airlift began as the Taliban completed an astonishing
rout of government forces around the country and took over the capital on
August 15.
The withdrawal came just before the August 31 deadline set by
Biden to end the war which began with the US invasion in the wake of 9/11 -- a
conflict that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Afghans and more than
2,400 American service members.
The slightly early finish came amid a threat from the regional
offshoot of the Islamic State group, rivals of the Taliban, to attack US forces
at the Kabul airport.
Thirteen US troops were among more than 100 people killed late
last week when an IS suicide bomber attacked the perimeter of the airport,
where desperate Afghans had massed in the hope of boarding an evacuation
flight.
Biden said Tuesday that the United States would continue the fight
against terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries, and warned IS: "We
are not done with you yet." - AFP
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