Coming to a Standstill: US Yet to Break Free of 'Afghan Trap'

The United States fell into a trap in Afghanistan, where Washington is yet to wrap up the most protracted war in the history of the US armed forces, according to political analyst Nikolai Shlyamin.

In an interview with Sputnik, political analyst Nikolai Shlyamin said that Washington had fallen into a trap in Afghanistan and that the most protracted war in the US armed forces' history has yet to be finished despite the withdrawal of the US-led coalition forces from Afghanistan a year ago.

"Washington is still in a trap in Afghanistan. Absolutely not taking into account the local national environment and ethnic issues, the United States tried to resolve the Afghan problem by classic military methods," Shlyamin said.

He added that in the past decade, the problem reached a gridlock and the war lost any meaning, something that he said added significantly to the Taliban's revival.

Afghan security forces patrol the Nad Ali district of Helmadn province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015.

© AP Photo / Abdul Khaliq

 

The Western coalition will probably never be able to resolve the Afghan issue by those methods that have been used until now," Shlyamin pointed out. According to him, to bring peace to Afghanistan, it is necessary to search for more flexible and well-thought-out decisions, including those related to easing a stance on the Taliban.

Earlier, the Russian President's special representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said that the US and NATO have completely failed to fulfill their task of normalizing the situation in Afghanistan.

"The ultimate goal of the Afghan anti-terrorism campaign — the establishment in Afghanistan of a democratic centralized state — was not achieved," he said.

The US-led mission in Afghanistan was completed on December 28, 2014, in an official ceremony that took place in Kabul in utmost security due to safety concerns.

The US military campaign in Afghanistan proved to be the longest war in US history, lasting for more than 13 years. The maximum size of the US military contingent during the war was 140,000 service personnel in 2010. During combat operations, over 2,300 US service personnel and more than 1,000 coalition soldiers were killed. A total of 17,674 US service personnel were injured.