Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/1/taliban-attacks-increased-in-afghan-capital-says-us-watchdog
Attacks in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, have been on the rise. These attacks have been targeted towards government officials, civil society leaders, and journalists. A new report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstructions (SIGAR) has been released as President Biden begins to reproach peace agreements between the Taliban and the U.S. that were established during the previous administration.
During the last quarter of the year enemy attacks were significantly higher than the previous quarter and than that of the previous year, according to U.S. forces stationed in Afghanistan. A large wave of attacks occurred in December of last year, including the killing of 19 members of Afghanistan security forces over the span of two days. In Kabul, a roadside bomb went off and struck a vehicle and a was also lawyer recently targeted and shot.
A NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, called Resolute Support, reported 2,586 civilian casualties between October 1 and December 31 of last year, 810 of which were killed. The report highlighted that the high numbers of casualties during the recent quarter are specifically alarming, because conflict usually subsides during the winter months.
The US has been involved in Afghanistan politics since September 11, 2001 when military troops invaded the country. The U.S. attacked and overthrew the Taliban, who had been running the country and harboring Osama bin Laden. The current Afghan government is steeped in corruption, which has caused a fracture between the administration and its population.
Billions of international aid are sent to Afghanistan every year to help combat war and poverty that is rampant in the country. In the end of 2020 the unemployment rate is projected as rising from the 23.9 percent in 2019 to 61.8 percent. The extreme increase in poverty can be linked to the rise in frustration with the government and the violence within the state.
Taliban representatives and the Afghanistan government resumed peace talks in Qatar, where the armed group has an office. The talks aim to end the decades of conflict, but frustration and fear has grown due to the rise in violence, for which both sides blame each other.
The White House is looking to review the agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban. The U.S. has significantly reduced its footprint in Afghanistan, only 2,500 troops now in the country. The success of these talks are crucial for the U.S. to take steps towards moving away from the Liberal Hegemon grand strategy that it took on in the post-cold war era.
As the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan, it is important that actions are taken to help stabilize the state that it imposed on for so long. As aid from countries and NGOs continues to be provided to Afghanistan in an effort to help the poverty-stricken state, it is important that corruption in the government does not inhibit the effort to help the Afghani people. Additionally, as security forces that helped protect state official withdraw, it is necessary that the state has the resources to protect its civil servants and journalists.