Billions spent on Afghan army benefit the TalibanAP, WASHINGTONBuilt and trained at a two-decade cost of US$83 billion, Afghan security forces collapsed so quickly and completely — in some cases without a shot fired — that the ultimate beneficiary of the US investment turned out to be the Taliban. The Taliban captured an array of modern military equipment when they overran Afghan forces who failed to defend district centers. Photo: APThe US failure to produce a sustainable Afghan army and police force, and the reasons for their collapse, will be studied for years by military analysts. He added, presciently: “Slow decay is inevitable, and state failure is a matter of time.”Some elements of the Afghan army did fight hard, including commandos whose heroic efforts are yet to be fully documented. The Afghan force-building exercise was so completely dependent on US largesse that the Pentagon even paid the Afghan troops’ salaries.

Source: Taipei Times August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC