Ben Wallace, the Defense Secretary of the United Kingdom, believes pulling troops out of Afghanistan now would be a catastrophe. He is worried that the Al-Qaeda terrorist group would definitely return to the country after Britain and the US troops are pulled out. In an interview with Sky News, he stated that failed states were a major breeding ground for such people- which makes him extremely worried. He further believes that isn’t the best time to pull troops out, as terror factions might occupy that place.
Afghanistan’s Era of Peace Has Ended
Ben Wallace’s comments are not out of place- as Taliban forces, a major supporter of Al Qaeda have been moving closer to retake the capital of Afghanistan- Kabul. The Taliban forces were previously ousted from their position of power by the US-led invasion of the country back in 2001. Further, Senior intelligence officials of the country stated that the terror group was absolutely ready to attack the western hemisphere by next year. This would be because of the support that they receive from the Taliban.
It has come to major media outlets that the entire Afghani city of Herat has been occupied by the Taliban, except the Afghan army corps base. This was reported by the Head of the Provincial Council of the city, Kamran Alizai on Friday. It has been reported that around 14 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals have succumbed to the Taliban. The airport at Herat was captured on Friday, while the Shindand airbase was captured on Thursday- as stated by Alizai.
Unfortunately, the Taliban has also captured the second largest city of Afghanistan- Kandahar. The statement from the faction was that the police headquarters, the governor’s office as well as several other centers in the city were simply cleared of the enemy. Currently, they have been positioned under the control of the Mujahideen.
