Why are we just learning this?? #Afghanistan military desertions & collapse is the culmination of *1.5 YEARS* of illicit deals by lowest level govt officials getting Afghan soldiers to surrender their weapons—to the Taliban—in the name of a "cease fire." Trump/Pompeo's ceasefire.
The Taliban capitalized on the uncertainty caused by the Feb. 2020 agreement in Doha between the militant group and Trump admin. calling for a full American withdrawal from #Afghanistan. Afghan forces saw US leaving as assuring the Taliban's return & wanted to be on winning side.
The Feb 2020 Trump/Pompeo Doha agreement to end the war in #Afghanistan left many Afghan forces demoralized.
“They saw that document as the end… The day the deal was signed we saw the change. Everyone was just looking out for himself. It was like [the U.S.] left us to fail.”
"The negotiated surrenders to the Taliban slowly gained pace in the months following the [Trump admin] Doha deal… Then, after President Biden announced in April that U.S. forces would withdraw from Afghanistan this summer without conditions, the capitulations began to snowball."
Capable Afghan special forces were often sent to help units that repeatedly folded under Taliban pressure. Unwilling to surrender or fight outmatched, they put down their arms, put on civilian clothing, & fled. "I felt ashamed [but] would've been sold to Taliban by my own gov't"
#Corruption was more to blame for #Afghanistan's collapse than incompetence. Some frontline police hadn’t been paid in 6-9 months. So Taliban payoffs became more enticing.
“Without the United States, there was no fear of being caught for corruption. It brought out the traitors"
The toll on Afghanistan police had been visible for months. One Kandahar commander grew hunched, dressed more ragged. Repeated retreats aft Doha deal hurt his pride, but going w/o pay made him desperate. He even asked the journo if the Taliban was still offering $150 to surrender
Read tonight's terrific WaPo report. It's clear #Afghanistan's fall was sudden only to those not paying attention. Trump-Pompeo Doha deal demoralized Af forces, enabled corruption that starved them, & the Taliban paid them.
Q: Where'd Taliban $$ come from🤔washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/…
Remember those reports of #Russia paying #Taliban fighters to kill US troops in #Afghanistan? Trump admin learned of Russian bounties intel in Feb 2020, same time as Doha peace deal. Maybe Putin was paying the Taliban to corrupt & demoralize our Afg allies?
Where'd the Taliban get the money to pay Afghan troops to surrender?
Seems relevant: @nytimes reported an Afghan contractor had been handing out Russian cash from a Russian military intelligence unit to Taliban fighters to target Americans in Afghanistan.
@nytimes Yes, also relevant: “We have very good relations with Russia,” said a Taliban delegation spox during a very recent visit to Moscow. Odd for an officially banned terrorist org in Russia to visit Russia & tout their great relations. But a telling admission. apnews.com/article/taliba…
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