The US government made mistakes in managing the crisis before and during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. That emerges from a US State Department investigation report, which the agency published in part on Friday. The decisions by US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump to withdraw the armed forces “posed significant challenges” for the State Department.
Reasons given include gaps in filling on-site management positions or staff shortages due to the corona pandemic. Overall, worst-case scenarios have not been sufficiently considered at the highest level. Nor was consideration given to how quickly this could occur.
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In view of future crises, it should also be ensured that the widest possible range of views is heard, in line with the report’s recommendations for action. Voices that question policy decisions must also be heard.
Operation in Afghanistan devoured huge sums of money
US-led foreign troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001 in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. At the time, the international operation led to the downfall of the Taliban government, which harbored al-Qaeda terrorists.
The military operation cost huge sums of money, tens of thousands of Afghan civilians and security forces lost their lives, as well as several thousand international troops, including 2,461 Americans.
At the end of August 2021, the last US troops finally left Afghanistan. This ended the international military operation in the country after almost 20 years – shortly after the Taliban seized power again in Kabul.
The troop withdrawal initiated by the Americans proved chaotic and received international criticism and misunderstanding.
In Germany, entry into Germany for endangered Afghans has been made possible since the last week of June through the federal admission program. As a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in Berlin told the Evangelical Press Service (EPD), the necessary visas are being processed in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Endangered Afghans can re-enter Germany
The program, which began last October, was suspended in March over security concerns. However, no one had come to the Federal Republic up to that point in the course of this process.
“The possibility of leaving for Germany” was officially announced on a website of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Ministry of the Interior for the Federal Admissions Programme. However, an exit “from a transit country other than Pakistan” is not currently planned, he said.
Persons eligible for the program would be contacted directly by a commissioned service provider. According to the information, anyone in Iran should travel to Islamabad.
14,000
vulnerable from afghanistan have been waiting for his departure for months, despite having been accepted.
According to NDR Info, around 14,000 at-risk people from Afghanistan have been waiting for months to travel to Germany despite being hospitalized. The vast majority are still in the Taliban-ruled area. The admissions program’s website states that as soon as it is possible for those at risk who are in Afghanistan to leave the country, “the Federal Government service provider will contact interested parties on an individual basis”.
More on the subject in Tagesspiegel Plus:
Air Force Inspector Ingo Gerhartz “We need more operational mindset” Scathing criticism of visa freeze for Afghans “Time is pressing. It’s a matter of life and death” Lessons from Afghanistan The Bundeswehr is tidying up in Mali
Afghans, on the other hand, “who leave Afghanistan without prior consultation with the service provider generally cannot be supported by the service provider during their transit stay in Pakistan”.
Specifically, the program addresses the protection of people who are in danger in Afghanistan because of their commitment to human rights or their work in the judiciary, politics or the media. The program is scheduled to run until September 2025. It is planned that 1,000 particularly vulnerable people will come to Germany every month. (dpa, epd)