Srinagar: Voicing concern top US general who is in charge of US forces in the Middle East has said that the Afghan military will collapse after the United States and international troops leave Afghanistan, Tolo news reported.
He said that he is worried that Afghanistan’s military may not be able to “hold on” after American troops leave later this year.
“I am concerned about the ability of the Afghan military to hold on after we leave, the ability of the Afghan Air Force to fly, in particular, after we remove the support for those aircraft,” Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, head of US Central Command, said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday.
The remarks come as US President Joe Biden announced on April 14 that he will withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11.
The report said that when asked about the need for the Pentagon to spend $4 billion a year to support Afghan security forces, McKenzie said: “If we don’t provide them some support, they certainly will collapse.”
“And I think that’s not in our best interest,” he said.
There are nearly 2,500 American forces in Afghanistan under NATO’s Resolute Support mission.
The announcement to withdraw the US and other foreign forces from the country in the next five months has been accompanied by many concerns from Afghans.
(Courtesy: The report first published in Tolo News)
