WAAHINGTON – A defeat in Afghanistan is portrayed as a victory by USgovernment to the American people.
A damning report published by the New York Timeslinkhaspointed the accusatory finger at the US government and said that Americansare being misled regarding the ground reality and situation in Afghanistan.
The United States invaded Afghanistan in October of 2001 in a bid to wipeout Taliban from the country.
The report in NYT claims that despite the US government’s tall claims ofsuccesses, Taliban now controls or contests in 61 per cent of the country’sarea as against 44 per cent claimed by Washington. This figure is believedto be bigger than ever since the US invasion.
Then the claim of the US military that the Afghan government is in controlor has influence in 56 per cent of the country is debunked as a result of’statistical sleight of hand.’ The report counters saying that the Afghangovernment is only controlling district headquarters and military barracksand that everything else has fallen to Taliban.
One of the objectives of the US in Afghanistan was to help the countrybuild a solid millitary and police force.
The NYT says that the claim that there are 10 Afghan security personnel forevery Taliban insurgent is shoddy because Afghan officials themselvesbelieve a third of the security personnel have either left service ordeserted. Afghan officials are also attributed to saying that 13,600insurgents were killed in the country in 2017 which is half the numberclaimed by the US government.
It is estimated that the US has spent $840 billion fighting Taliban inAfghanistan since 2001 and has lost 2,200 of its own soldiers. There was amove to pull out a large number of American troops towards the end ofBarack Obama’s term as US President but it never happened.
Meanwhile, to counter a growing resentment against Americans against thecampaign in Afghanistan, some suspect that false numbers and claims arebeing made to justify staying in the country.
The Hollywood movie Fury – although fictional – took a hilarious dig atwhat is otherwise a grim situation for the Americans in Afghanistan.