The Loss of Kunduz Prompts a Difficult Choice
This month the Taliban attacked and recaptured a majority of Kunduz, one of the most populated and largest cities in Afghanistan. In addition to reclaiming the city, many prisoners were freed from the prisons. This is a drastic turn of events from fourteen years ago at the start of the war in Afghanistan. On November 26, 2001 the United States, with the support of the Afghan forces, captured Kunduz from the Taliban. At the time, this was a major victory for the U.S. because Kunduz served as the regimes stronghold. Now fourteen years later, the positions have switched. Reclaiming Kunduz is the biggest victory the Taliban has earned since originally losing the city. This proves that the U.S.-led NATO coalition has not achieved its original goal of eradicating the Taliban from Afghanistan's major cities, never mind the entire …show more content…
The United States bares some responsibility. In 2014 the United States slowly began to withdraw its combat troops from Afghanistan and handed the Afghan troops the main combat responsibilities. These troops were trained by NATO forces, but since their takeover of operations these forces have been plagued by corruption and bad coordination among the army and local police. Not soon after the United States began to withdraw their forces from the country did the Taliban begin to increase in strength. Analyst state as the regime’s strength grew in the countryside it was only a matter of time before they attempted to take back the major cities. The supposedly well trained Afghan military had time to prepare for a possible attack on Kunduz and even outnumbered their attackers, but were still unable to keep the city. This lack of preparation and ability reflects poorly on the United States training of the Afghan forces and implies they pulled out before the troops could fully
This month the Taliban attacked and recaptured a majority of Kunduz, one of the most populated and largest cities in Afghanistan. In addition to reclaiming the city, many prisoners were freed from the prisons. This is a drastic turn of events from fourteen years ago at the start of the war in Afghanistan. On November 26, 2001 the United States, with the support of the Afghan forces, captured Kunduz from the Taliban. At the time, this was a major victory for the U.S. because Kunduz served as the regimes stronghold. Now fourteen years later, the positions have switched. Reclaiming Kunduz is the biggest victory the Taliban has earned since originally losing the city. This proves that the U.S.-led NATO coalition has not achieved its original goal of eradicating the Taliban from Afghanistan's major cities, never mind the entire …show more content…
The United States bares some responsibility. In 2014 the United States slowly began to withdraw its combat troops from Afghanistan and handed the Afghan troops the main combat responsibilities. These troops were trained by NATO forces, but since their takeover of operations these forces have been plagued by corruption and bad coordination among the army and local police. Not soon after the United States began to withdraw their forces from the country did the Taliban begin to increase in strength. Analyst state as the regime’s strength grew in the countryside it was only a matter of time before they attempted to take back the major cities. The supposedly well trained Afghan military had time to prepare for a possible attack on Kunduz and even outnumbered their attackers, but were still unable to keep the city. This lack of preparation and ability reflects poorly on the United States training of the Afghan forces and implies they pulled out before the troops could fully