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In the future only support from the air?
US troops in the eastern Afghan province of Khost (archive image)
Photo: NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP
The US is evidently examining ways of continuing to provide military support to Afghanistan after the NATO troops have withdrawn.
As the New York Times reports, the Pentagon is considering obtaining clearance for air strikes with which the US armed forces could help Afghan troops, for example in an attack by the radical Islamist Taliban on the capital Kabul.
According to the report, US President Joe Biden and his advisors had so far proposed an almost complete end to air strikes in Afghanistan with the withdrawal of troops.
There should therefore only be exceptions for terrorist targets that might endanger American interests.
In the meantime, however, the assessment has apparently changed.
According to the newspaper, the option of air strikes in the event of an "extraordinary crisis" is under discussion, such as an attack on Kabul or a siege that threatens the security of the American embassy and that of its partners.
According to this, warplanes and drones could intervene.
The procedure has not yet been decided.
Most recently, the Taliban had brought more and more provinces in Afghanistan under their control, including a strategically important district not far from the capital.
A scenario was repeatedly discussed among experts according to which the Taliban could launch an offensive on Kabul after the withdrawal of international troops.
A secret report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense also stated that “absolute worst-case scenarios, such as a civil war with a storm on Kabul” and thus the closure of the German embassy in the massively secured “Green Zone”, were “not to be completely excluded «.
However, US Chief of Staff Mark Milley recently emphasized that an attack on Kabul should not necessarily occur.
“It's not a foregone conclusion.
The Afghan government has significant military capabilities.
We have to see what happens, ”Milley said.
The USA, Germany and other countries had promised their support to the Afghan government beyond the military mission.
In any case, US air support would be difficult to maintain over a longer period of time.
According to the New York Times, the logistical effort would be immense.
The US wants to leave its air bases in Afghanistan by the end of the month.
The air support would then have to start from one of the neighboring countries.
fek