US Commander General Scott Miller
Kabul … News Time
General Scott Miller, the US commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan, said steps had been taken to withdraw troops and hand over military bases and equipment to Afghan forces. According to Reuters, General Scott Miller said that he was following the orders of US President Joe Biden based on his decision to end the long US war in Afghanistan. US President Joe Biden said earlier this month that all troops in Afghanistan would be withdrawn before 9/11, marking the 20th anniversary of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. General Scott Miller has been leading US forces and the NATO Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan since 2018, fighting the Afghan Taliban and other groups. He said foreign forces would protect military and other machinery during that time and would continue to co-operate with Afghan security forces. “I had the opportunity to talk to female members of the Taliban Political Commission and I told them that the return of tension after the withdrawal of forces would be a tragedy for Afghanistan and the people,” Miller told reporters in Kabul. The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when the United States invaded and overthrew their government, and the long war has been going on ever since. The withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan is set to begin on May 1 under an agreement reached between the United States and the Taliban last year. “As soon as our forces leave, we will initially hand over the military bases to the Afghan Ministry of Defense and other Afghan forces,” said General Scott Miller. He said the Taliban had promised to cut ties with al-Qaeda.
It should be noted that one of the reasons for the US operation against the Taliban in 2001 was the presence of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, which was blamed for the 9/11 attacks. A report released by the United Nations in January this year stated that there were at least 500 al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan and that the Taliban had close ties to them. The Taliban, on the other hand, denied al-Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan. Referring to the recent decision by the US President, a US official said on condition of anonymity that Biden had decided to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan from September 11. He said Biden would announce the withdrawal of all US troops after contacting Western allies and that only a limited number of guards would be stationed there to protect US diplomatic installations.
