US industry groups urge government-contractor dialogue on Afghanistan
19 May 2021
by Marc Selinger
Three US industry groups are recommending that the Biden administration form ‘collaboration forums’ in Kabul and Washington to improve co-ordination with contractors during and after the ongoing US troop withdrawal in Afghanistan.
The flag of Afghanistan. (Getty Images)
The forums could address a host of contractor questions about pressing topics such as the changing security environment in Afghanistan, how contractors can best support the drawdown, and whether contractors will continue supporting Afghan forces from other countries in the region, according to the 13 May letter, which describes the government-industry collaboration as lacking.
Fear of Taliban Conquering Kabul Are Overblown, US Envoy Says
In this May 5, 2020 file photo, graffiti depicts Washington s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, left, and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the leader of the Taliban delegation, in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
19 May 2021
WASHINGTON Predictions that the Taliban will quickly overrun Afghan government forces and conquer Kabul once U.S. and coalition forces have fully withdrawn are unduly pessimistic, Washington s special envoy to Afghanistan said Tuesday.
“I personally believe that the statements that their forces will disintegrate and the Talibs will take over in short order are mistaken,” Zalmay Khalilzad told the House Foreign Affairs Committee, whose members expressed deep worry that President Joe Biden s decision to fully withdraw by September will lead to chaos and intensified civil war.
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Predictions that the Taliban will quickly overrun Afghan government forces and conquer Kabul once U.S. and coalition forces have fully withdrawn are unduly pessimistic, Washington’s special envoy to Afghanistan said Tuesday.
“I personally believe that the statements that their forces will disintegrate and the Talibs will take over in short order are mistaken,” Zalmay Khalilzad told the House Foreign Affairs Committee, whose members expressed deep worry that President Joe Biden’s decision to fully withdraw by September will lead to chaos and intensified civil war.
Lawmakers are not alone in their skepticism that a fractious Afghan government can withstand a potential Taliban onslaught. Some senior U.S. military leaders had preferred keeping a U.S. troop presence as a hedge. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has held out hope that Afghan forces can hold up if Washington continues some forms of support, but he told reporters as the U.S. wi
Pentagon officials say the physical withdrawal is proceeding on schedule with little difficulty, but the broader picture is troubling.
Lawmakers of both parties say the administration has yet to answer consequential questions about how it will protect civilian contractors and diplomatic personnel left behind, along with Afghans who worked with the U.S. military as interpreters and in other roles but now are virtually guaranteed to become top targets of the Taliban Islamist insurgency. They also argue that White House optimism about the Afghan military’s ability to fight the Taliban on its own is baseless.
“This has some eerie resemblances” to Vietnam, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Virginia Democrat, said at the hearing. He recalled the rapid fall of Saigon in 1975 as the U.S. frantically evacuated the last of its personnel from its embassy.
US envoy: Fear of Taliban conquering Kabul are overblown sfgate.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sfgate.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.