The US and NATO mission in Afghanistan has been a complete failure, the Russian President’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, told TASS, in evaluating the effectiveness of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) there.

Zamir Nabiyevich Kabulov, Russian presidential envoy to Afghanistan

“Assessing the results of the actions of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, it can be said that they have completely failed their mission,” Kabulov said in an interview to TASS, adding that the ultimate goal of the ISAF anti-terrorist campaign, which consisted in creating “a democratic centralized state” in Afghanistan, has not been achieved.

The special envoy stressed that, not only has the US-led coalition in Afghanistan failed to achieve its main goal, but “has not accomplished any of the tasks it had set before the operation,” as Afghanistan still lacks “strong and stable central authority.”

He also emphasized that, failing to defeat the Taliban by military means, the ISAF’s current policy of national reconciliation de-facto envisions their participation in the new political power structure of Afghanistan.

Kabulov drew attention to the fact that the ongoing “Decisive Support” training mission, which the US and their allies in Afghanistan are currently conducting, has also shown very little result. The program aims to improve the combat readiness of the Afghan army and police, enabling them to independently secure stability and order.

Recent Taliban attacks in Kabul

According to Kabulov, Afghan governmental forces “show inability to affect the situation due to a lack of arms and equipment, as well as an insufficient level of training and low morale.”

With the Taliban bearing down on different parts of the country, Western troops have been forced to directly engage in combat, leaving them less time to focus on training Afghan soldiers, Kabulov said.

Meanwhile, according to the Russian President’s special envoy, the situation in Afghanistan remains tense, with “high or extraordinary” security threats present in 27 of the 34 Afghan provinces, as Taliban militants intensify their activities in different parts of the country.

On December 11, the insurgents assaulted the Spanish embassy guesthouse in the Afghan capital. The militants also killed six US soldiers in a suicide bomb attack on the Bagram air base; RT reported.

M/M