Clinton warns on full US Afghanistan exit

FORMER US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned of serious repercussions from President Joe Biden’s push for US forces full exit from Afghanistan.

In April, Biden announced plans to fully withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, despite the 2020 US-Taliban peace deal having set May 1 as the deadline for the pull out.

In an interview with CNN, Clinton described Biden’s move as “a very difficult decision” and “a wicked problem”.

She argued that the US should brace itself for “two huge consequences at some point in the not-too-distant future”, including the possible collapse of the Kabul government and “a takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, probably with a resumption of civil war in certain parts of the country”.

“There will also be, I fear, a huge refugee outflow. And of course the second big set of problems revolves around a resumption of activities by global terrorist groups, most particularly al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

“It’s one thing to pull out troops that have been supporting security in Afghanistan, supporting the Afghan military, leaving it pretty much to fend for itself, but we can’t afford to walk away from the consequences of that decision,” Clinton said.

She spoke as Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that there would still be a US presence in Afghanistan after the withdrawal was completed.

He pointed out that the US Embassy would remain in Afghanistan and the US would continue providing economic, humanitarian, and developmental support in the country.

When asked whether the Taliban could end up taking over in Afghanistan, Blinken said the US has “to be prepared for every scenario and there are a range of them”.