'Afghanistan to become graveyard for US,' warn Taliban after Trump clears way for more troops

Published August 22, 2017
Trump backtracks from his promise to rapidly end America's longest war and says to send more US troops to Afghanistan. -File
Trump backtracks from his promise to rapidly end America's longest war and says to send more US troops to Afghanistan. -File

The Taliban warned on Tuesday that Afghanistan would become a “graveyard” for the United States after President Donald Trump cleared the way for thousands more American troops to be sent to the war-torn country.

“If America doesn't withdraw its troops, soon Afghanistan will become another graveyard for this superpower in the 21st century,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement.

The Taliban further dismissed Donald Trump's strategy for Afghanistan as vague and “nothing new”.

“For now I can tell you there was nothing new in his speech and it was very unclear,” Mujahid told AFP.

He added that the militants were preparing a formal statement which would be released later.

Trump backtracked from his promise to rapidly end America's longest war in his first formal address to the nation as commander-in-chief late on Monday, though he did not offer specifics.

He said he had concluded “the consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable”, leaving a vacuum that terrorists “would instantly fill.”

A senior Taliban commander told AFP that Trump was just perpetuating the “arrogant behaviour” of previous presidents such as George Bush.

“He is just wasting American soldiers. We know how to defend our country. It will not change anything.

“For generations, we have fought this war, we are not scared, we are fresh and we will continue this war until our last breath,” he told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.

He added that the statement proved the current Afghan government “is a US puppet”.

The insurgents also signalled their intentions minutes after Trump spoke by claiming the US embassy in Kabul had been the target of a rocket attack late Monday.

The rocket landed in a field in the city's diplomatic quarter, with no casualties reported.

While Trump refused to offer detailed troop numbers, senior White House officials said he had already authorised his defence secretary to deploy up to 3,900 more troops to Afghanistan.

He also lambasted ally Pakistan for offering safe haven to “agents of chaos.” A commander from the Taliban-allied Haqqani network, long believed to have links to Pakistan's shadowy military establishment, told AFP that Trump “has proved it's a Crusade”.

“His statement has proved that he wants to eliminate the entire Muslim umma (community),” he said.

Prior to Trump's announcement the Taliban had written an open letter warning him not to send more troops and calling for the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.