Leader seeks to buttress defenses against Taliban
KABUL — The Afghan president on Monday blamed the American troops’ speedy pullout for the escalating violence in his country and said his administration would focus on protecting provincial capitals and major urban areas in the face of the rapidly advancing Taliban.
Ashraf Ghani also urged lawmakers to back a national mobilization drive against the Taliban amid an intensifying war between the militants and government forces over the past few months as U.S. and NATO troops complete their withdrawal from the wartorn country.
“An imported, hasty” peace process — a reference to Washington’s push for negotiations between Kabul and the Taliban — “not only failed to bring peace but created doubt and ambiguity” among Afghans, Ghani said in an address to Parliament.
The Afghan president arrived by helicopter for the extraordinary session of the house, called because of the dire situation on the ground. The Taliban are now trying to seize provincial capitals after already taking large swaths of land and scores of districts in more rural areas, as well as several key border crossings with neighboring countries.
Ghani claimed that Afghan forces have the capacity to defeat the insurgents. But in past weeks, troops have often been left without reinforcements and resupplies.
On Sunday, the Afghan armed forces spokesman, Gen. Ajmal Omar Shinwari, said three provinces in southern and western Afghanistan face critical security situations — southern Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, as well as Helmand and Herat provinces.