London: the planet “got it wrong” on how quickly the Taliban would take over Afghanistan, the top of British army said on Sunday, days after the united kingdom government acknowledged that intelligence suggested that “it was unlikely Kabul would fall this year” after Western troops withdrew from the war-torn country.
The US and other countries were caught off-guard by the Taliban’s lightning conquest of Afghanistan last month and therefore the strikingly rapid fall of the Afghan military and government backed by the West once NATO troops left the country.
“It was the pace of it that surprised us and that i don’t think we realised quite what the Taliban were up to,” Britain’s chief of the defence staff, General Nick Carter told the BBC Asked whether military intelligence was wrong, he said the govt received intelligence from a spread of sources It’s not purely about military intelligence,” he said.
The last British and US troops left Afghanistan every week ago, bringing their 20-year campaign within the country to an end. There has been criticism of the way the West withdrew from Afghanistan, with questions over how the Taliban was ready to seize control of the country at such speed Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told MPs last week the intelligence assessment had been that there would be a “steady deterioration” within the security situation in August but it had been “unlikely Kabul would fall this year”. However, the Taliban took over Kabul on Assumption and Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani fled to the UAE.
Speaking to the BBC, Nick was asked how the predictions had been wrong I think everybody got it wrong is that the straight answer,” he said. “Even the Taliban didn’t expect things to vary as quickly as they did.”
Asked whether military intelligence was wrong, Nick said: “No… many of the assessments suggested it wouldn’t last the course of the year and, of course, that’s proven to be correct.”
He said: “It’s a way broader thing than simply strictly military intelligence. “The way it works during this country is we’ve the joint intelligence committee which sits inside the cupboard Office. So what they are doing is gather the sources from the Ministry of Defence, the ministry , the inter-agencies and therefore the secret intelligence services and wider open source material He said: “I don’t think what anybody predicted was how fragile that Afghan government was and the way fragile it had been in reference to the command of its soldiers .”
After the Taliban took control of Kabul, Joint Chiefs of Staff of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley commented on the intelligence assessment at a Pentagon press conference , saying the time-frame of the Afghan government’s collapse “was widely estimated and ranged from weeks to months and even years following our departure.”
“There was nothing that I or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days,” Milley said The Taliban is predicted to announce a replacement government soon, meaning foreign powers will need to adapt to the prospect of handling an administration led by Taliban terrorists.
The British army chief said it had been too early to mention how the Taliban would govern, but there was an opportunity the group would be less repressive than it had been within the past On the face of it, it doesn’t look good at the instant . But let’s examine what happens. it’s going to well change,” he said.
“I also think they are not stupid enough to [not] know the Afghan people have changed and that they need a slightly different kind of governance On Sunday, the Taliban was accused of murdering a female policeman . The killing comes amid reports the group is escalating its repression of girls .
He said it had been now right down to the international community to encourage the Taliban to control during a different way They’re getting to need a touch of help to run a contemporary state effectively,” he said.
“If they behave, perhaps they’ll get some help,” he said Nick said the danger of terrorism will depend upon whether an efficient government are often formed in Afghanistan Meanwhile, Opposition Labour Party’s shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said there was a robust possibility that Britain may now be less safe due to the events in Afghanistan.
“The urgent task for the govt … is to form sure Afghanistan doesn’t collapse once more into a haven of terrorism,” the Indian-origin politician said She called on the united kingdom to figure with other countries – not just its allies – to require a standard approach towards the Taliban, and use their leverage to demand rights for ladies and girls living in Afghanistan.