RASC News Agency: H.R. McMaster, the former U.S. National Security Advisor, stated yesterday that Donald Trump played a significant role in the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. He asserted that the United States, in its rush to exit, sacrificed the Afghanistani people by conceding to the Taliban. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, McMaster said, “If we were going to leave Afghanistan, why didn’t we just leave? What transpired during those so-called peace negotiations and concessions to the Taliban was effectively trampling the Afghanistani people in the process of withdrawal.”
On the third anniversary of the deaths of 13 U.S. service members at Kabul airport, Trump attempted to shift the blame for the withdrawal from Afghanistan onto Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. He remarked yesterday in an interview that while the exit from Afghanistan was inevitable, it should have been executed with dignity and strength. However, his former National Security Advisor pointed out that Trump himself was instrumental in shaping the policies that led to this outcome.
The U.S.-Taliban peace agreement, signed on February 29, 2020, during Trump’s presidency, is widely regarded by many observers as a catalyst for the collapse of Afghanistan’s previous government. McMaster, who recently authored a book titled “Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World,” extensively critiques Trump’s policies on Afghanistan. He noted that in 2017, while serving as the White House National Security Advisor, a sustainable and rational strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia was developed, but Trump failed to adhere to this plan, opting instead to follow Obama’s strategy by initiating negotiations with the Taliban and discussing the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. McMaster emphasized that such negotiations with a terrorist group were unprecedented.
McMaster believes that Trump’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was heavily influenced by advisors and officials who echoed the sentiments of “ending America’s endless wars” and the notion that “Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires.” Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump consistently blamed Biden for the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, criticizing the abandonment of Bagram Air Base to the Taliban and the leaving behind of millions of dollars’ worth of military equipment.
Yesterday, in an interview with Fox News, McMaster also criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the withdrawal, asserting that Biden’s team overlooked the current consequences of pulling out U.S. troops. He remarked, “We are witnessing the resurgence of terrorist organizations. The Biden administration deluded itself into believing there was a stark difference between the Taliban and other terrorist groups.” There is no doubt that the United States, not only granted the Taliban international legitimacy through the Doha negotiations, but also effectively handed the country over to them while providing millions of dollars monthly to sustain their regime.
