General Petraeus once led forces in Afghanistan. Here’s what he had to say about Kabul’s fall to the Taliban.
The U.S. and much of the world are still reeling from the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan after being driven out 20 years ago by American troops. As many questions remain, Katie turned to retired General David Petraeus, who led American forces in Afghanistan under the Obama administration.
“I don’t know how you can describe the Taliban [taking over] as anything but disastrous,” said Petraeus, who also previously served as the director of the CIA. He even went so far as to describe the chaos that ensued shortly after the Taliban took over as “heartbreaking,” especially to those who served there. A video released by CNN captured people clinging to the fuselage of a U.S. military aircraft as it taxied at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
“It’s very, very sad for any of us, in particular, I think who served there, who have Afghan friends, comrades, and so forth,” he said. “And as I said at the outbreak, it is just heartbreaking to watch.”
Here are some key takeaways from Katie’s conversation with Petraeus.
How should the U.S. have handled the withdrawal?
Petraeus said President Biden made a “powerful argument” for his decision to pull American troops out of Afghanistan but fell short when it came to the execution.
“It should have been managed vastly more aggressively, much sooner than now. I understand concerns of some kind of big evacuation that could spark some kind of panic in the capital or what have you,” he said. “But the truth is our announcement of the withdrawal, then the actual withdrawal of our troops and then interestingly, the withdrawal of our contractors who kept the Afghan air force operational — those were the real triggers of much of what has happened,” he added. “And I think there was a clear underestimation of the psychological impact of those announcements and then that final action.”
This comes as the president faces criticism from both Democrats and Republicans alike for how he conducted the withdrawal of troops from the country. Nonetheless, the president said Monday he stands “squarely behind” his decision to leave the country, and doesn’t want to pass the nation’s longest war onto a fifth president.
Is it true that the Afghan army had little interest in fighting off the Taliban?
Petraeus shot down Biden’s claim that the Afghan army wouldn’t fight, emphasizing that the Afghan died in “vastly greater numbers than our own forces and coalition forces.” Approximately 66,000 Afghan national military and police died in comparison to the roughly 2,448 American service members and 1,144 allied soldiers who were killed in the conflict.
“It was never a question of what Afghans fight,” he said. “My gosh, they’re born fighting. They’re born with an AK 47 in their hand, but again, no soldier is going to fight indefinitely if there’s no one coming to the rescue,” he continued. “They realize the futility of the situation and the same with Afghan leaders.”
Was the War in Afghanistan ultimately worth it?
Petraeus maintained that an “enormous amount was accomplished” during the 20-year war. “There were 20 years of pretty extraordinary freedoms in a country that had previously been ruled by what at that time was certainly a very barbaric Taliban regime whose rule of law was exercised by cutting people’s hands-off and stoning women,” he said.
At the same time, he acknowledged that this isn’t why the U.S. invaded the country or kept troops there. “The reason we stayed was to ensure that Al-Qaeda could not reestablish that sanctuary, something they tried to do on my watch, and on subsequent watches in which we repeatedly destroyed when we detected them,” he said.
He also praised the men and women who fought and died in the war, saying the Taliban’s takeover “takes nothing away from them.”
“Our young men and women volunteered to serve our country, at a time of war, knowing that by raising the right hand and taking an oath, that they were very likely going to be deployed to a combat zone,” he said. “And I think they should be very proud of what it was that they did.”
Will Afghanistan become a hotbed for terrorism again?
He believes it’s certainly a possibility. “I fear that Al Qaeda and the Islamic State will certainly have an opportunity to re-establish the kind of sanctuary that Al-Qaeda had in the past,” he said.
Though the lack of bases or troops on the ground will make it a challenge, Petraeus expressed confidence in the intelligence community, saying that lessons have been learned from the September 9/11 terrorist attacks and technology has come a long way.
“Trust me, this is being taken very, very seriously by those in the intelligence community, the military, DHS, and so forth,” said the retired general. “And to be absolutely straightforward here, I think that our capabilities are vastly greater now in our coordination and sharing of intelligence and information and all the rest of that is vastly improved over what it was prior to 9/11.”
What does the future of Afghanistan look like?
He told Katie this all depends on the Taliban and how much they will revert to their old ways that he said bordered those of an Islamist extremist regime. But the retired general said the militant group will likely want to move forward in a way that will make other countries want to establish economic relations with Afghanistan and that includes their treatment of women.
“I’d like to see them turn over a new leaf and allow women to go to the American University of Afghanistan again — to participate in the economy and all the rest of that,” he said. “But obviously, I’m more than a bit skeptical that we will see that transpire.”
As part of their media blitz, the Taliban vowed Tuesday to respect women’s rights within the “frameworks” of Islamic Law, forgive those who fought again them, and ensure Afghanistan doesn’t become a safe haven for terrorists. In the meantime, Petraeus hopes the U.S. will use “every resource that we have” to get Afghan allies out of the country.
“There should be a delegation of authority to the military state department and Department of Homeland security individuals who are going to have to make really difficult choices — haunting choices, who gets to go and who has to stay,” he said. “That’s going to be a very, very challenging process to oversee.”
