NATO and US 'Failed to Fulfill Any of Their Promises' in Afghanistan

NATO and US-led forces have failed to deliver on any of their promises with regard to Afghanistan: they have been incapable of providing security, fostering development or training an army capable of defeating terrorism, Afghan politicians told Sputnik.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) only succeeded in toppling the Taliban and degrading al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in 2001, Hafez Rasekh of the Solidarity Party of Afghanistan said. All of their other pledges have remained unfulfilled.

"It remains unclear who prevented them from doing this – especially at first, when the international forces enjoyed a high degree of trust. NATO and the US could have achieved anything they wanted if they genuinely wanted to," Rasekh noted.

Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers stand guard during an operation against Taliban militants in the Nad Ali district of Helmand on December 26, 2015

© AFP 2023 / NOOR MOHAMMAD

Rasekh described the situation in the country as deteriorating daily despite billions of dollars in foreign investments. "International agencies say that billions of dollars are invested into Afghanistan. I suppose it could well be the case, but who knows in whose pockets the funds end up," he observed.

There are no visible signs of improvement. The unemployment rate is increasing. More than 35 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank data for 2011.

"What are international forces exactly doing here? What is the use if they are incapable of providing security or tackling terrorism?" he asked.

Nazifa Zaki, a member of the National Assembly, shares these concerns. "One cannot but ask why the US and NATO did not devote enough attention to creating an efficient army capable of fighting terrorism," he observed.

An Afghan security forces holds up his rifle as he walks at the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan February 27, 2016

© REUTERS / Mohammad Ismail

The US-trained Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), which receive billions of dollars in aid, have struggled to maintain peace and security in the country plagued by sectarian violence. In the months since NATO formally ended its mission in the country, the army has sustained heavy losses at the hands of the resurgent Taliban, with no immediate improvement in sight. The situation is particularly dire in Helmand, the largest province in the country.

NATO's subsequent mission, formally known as Operation Resolute Support, "has so far failed to reach its stated goals," Russia's envoy to the UN Vitaly Churkin observed. The almost 13,000-strong mission was launched on December 28, 2014, and remains ongoing.