After nearly two decades, the United States (US) troops decided to leave Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan and BBC Correspondent Lyse Doucet predicted that Afghans might face a similar situation like Soviet combatant forces’ withdrawal from the strife-torn country in 1989.
US primary goal was to hunt down Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, who were responsible for September 11 attack at World Trade Center (WTC) in New York, however, it couldn’t succeed as there was never a clear exit strategy.
US withdrawal from the airbase clearly indicates the promise of President Joe Biden who had claimed that they would be gone by September 11 this year.
Last month, Biden told his Afghan counterpart, Ashraf Ghani, that Afghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want. To which Ghani said his job was now to manage the consequences of the US withdrawal.
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In exchange for ouster of foreign troops, Taliban has vowed to prevent any armed group from launching international attacks from Afghan soil.
In this regard, BBC Chief International Correspondent tweeted and recalled the 1989 era, when soviet combatant forces withdrew from Afghanistan under the leadership of Colonel-General Boris Gromov.
All the questions asked in 1989 as Soviet troops left are asked again as NATO packs up. When will Kabul fall? Will there be talks? How long can the President hold on – like President #Najibullah am recording here.. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/8HeSayhfzJ
— lyse doucet (@bbclysedoucet) July 4, 2021
Soon after it had commenced, Afghanistan plunged into a civil war causing further destruction.
The invasion followed by a civil disruption had left behind a devastated country, with more than one million Afghans being killed and around 5.5 million displaced.
Following Biden’s decision to pull all American troops from Afghanistan, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also waved goodbye.
In 1989 as Soviet troops left there was speculation and exaggeration ..and sober thinking too .. as in 2021 as @NATO forces pull out .. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/5ihaVBjPQb
— lyse doucet (@bbclysedoucet) July 4, 2021
In a worrying development, Lyse Doucet raised her concerns for Afghans as she sees a blur outlook of future like three decades ago.
Then and now there’s a mix of wishful thinking and wisdom, on all sides. The biggest truth, then and now , is the aching hope for peace #Afghanistan
— lyse doucet (@bbclysedoucet) July 4, 2021