Leaving To Return? Withdrawing US, NATO Troops Cmdr. Promises Help as Taliban Extends Across Afghanistan

By Staff, Agencies

In an apparent sign of willing to keep boots on ground, the new commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan pledged to support local allies already losing ground for Taliban.

US Army General Austin ‘Scott’ Miller officially handed off his role as commander in a ceremony on Monday in Kabul, calling his nearly three-year stint the “highlight of my military career.” However, that assessment might ring hollow to the Afghan people, who continue to endure massive civilian casualties, caused by both the Taliban and pro-government forces and more than two decades of fighting.

Miller’s successor, Central Command chief and Marine General Frank McKenzie in Tampa, Florida, told Afghan forces they could “count on our support in the dangerous and difficult days ahead.”

It's not clear what form that ‘support’ might take. US forces earlier this month left the Bagram Airfield, formerly the epicenter of Washington's war effort in Afghanistan, without even notifying the base's Afghan commander.

The Taliban terrorist group has already retaken large swaths of territory, including border crossings with Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

US President Joe Biden announced his troops’ exit in April – extending a May withdrawal date set under Donald Trump. Afghan Special Forces were left to be overrun and killed by militants last month in the northern town of Dawlat Abad, when they were surrounded and local reinforcements declined to come to their rescue. In another case, more than 1,000 Afghan soldiers fled into Tajikistan to escape a Taliban assault.