It took less than a week for Taliban fighters to take control of 10 provincial Afghan capitals.
But even before the withdrawal started, the CIA predicted the Taliban would take control.
According to Timothy Bergreen, a former staff member of the House Intelligence Committee:
“The business of intelligence is not to say you know on Aug. 15 the Afghan government’s going to fall… But what everybody knew is that without the stiffening of the international forces and specifically our forces, the Afghans were incapable of defending or governing themselves.”
It’s no secret that assessments warned the President of a rapid collapse of the Afghan military.
Since the beginning, intelligence agencies have questioned if Afghan forces would fight without Americans by their side.
A CIA report in July said that Afghan forces had lost control of roads leading into major cities.
But for some reason, U.S. officials said it was difficult to predict how quickly Afghanistan would fall, and the President told the American people it was unlikely to happen.
Contrary to the president’s rosy speech…
For the past few years, the CIA has questioned the training of the Afghan forces. (In other words, they knew it was a train-wreck waiting to happen.)
Intelligence reports said the Afghan government was unprepared for a Taliban assault, and questioned whether the Afghan forces would offer resistance.
More reports said the Taliban had learned lessons from their takeover in the 1990s.
The intelligence said the Taliban would first secure border crossings, and take provincial capitals. Next, they would seize parts of the north before moving in on Kabul.
And this is exactly what happened.
But the intelligence reports and predictions were made worse by the fact that no one was listening to the CIA.
A former CIA analyst said…
“The Taliban certainly has shown their ability to persevere, hunker down and come back even after they have been beaten back. And you have a population that is so tired and weary of conflict that they are going to flip and support the winning side so they can survive.”
So, here is a look at how the outcome in Afghanistan will affect Americans.
Chinese influence:
Even before the Taliban regained control, their leaders were looking to gain allies. They wanted influence from other countries.
This planning is paying off.
The last time the Taliban was in control they had few countries that recognized them.
But, recently Taliban leaders have been meeting with officials from China and Russia.
The Taliban wants to gain legitimacy for their government, and China is going to give them this.
China has supposedly promised to invest in infrastructure in Afghanistan – which means they will be an economic supporter and influencer.
They also want to have access to mineral deposits in the country.
China sees the Taliban as another ally to work against the U.S.
Human rights:
The sight of Afghans grabbing onto American planes is something most people will never forget.
The terrible fact is, the people of Afghanistan will no longer have the freedoms they’ve enjoyed.
Under Taliban rule, the people will suffer greatly – especially the women.
The Taliban will deny education to women, marry off girls as young as twelve, sell young girls as sex slaves, rape, torture, and more.
This is clearly a major human rights crisis.
Terror haven:
Following the Sept. 11 attacks, it was believed the Taliban were harboring Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists.
There is no reason the Taliban won’t provide a haven for terrorists again.
Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said, “The Taliban are terrorists, and they’re going to support terrorists.”
“If they take control of Afghanistan, there is no question in my mind that they will provide a haven for al-Qaida, for ISIS and terrorism in general,” he said.
This is a national security threat to the United States.
Also, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence helped the Taliban before they took control in the 1990s.
Pakistan has similar ideological views as Afghanistan and will likely support the Taliban – all while trying to maintain good relations with the U.S.
This will create a new, long-term problem for America.
The President blames the Afghans for the fall of their country.
But, who do you blame for ignoring the intelligence reports that said it would happen?
