Biden gav i sin tale, som han holdt fra Det Hvide Hus i mandags, manglende kampvilje hos de afghanske styrker skylden for Talebans sejr. Han sagde bl.a.:
“We gave them every tool they could need. We paid their salaries, provided for the maintenance of their air force—something the Taliban doesn’t have. Taliban does not have an air force. We provided close air support. We gave them every chance to determine their own future. [What] we could not provide them was the will to fight for that future.”
Men det er en løgn. Ifølge The Wall Street Journal holdt de afghanske styrker op med at kæmpe på grund af, at USA havde indstillet sin luftstøtte. Det kommenterer the Wall Street Journal således:
“The Afghan army fighting alongside American troops was molded to match the way the Americans operate. The U.S. military, the world’s most advanced, relies heavily on combining ground operations with air power, using aircraft to resupply outposts, strike targets, ferry the wounded, and collect reconnaissance and intelligence.
In the wake of President Biden’s withdrawal decision, the U.S. pulled its air support, intelligence and contractors servicing Afghanistan’s planes and helicopters. That meant the Afghan military simply couldn’t operate anymore. The same happened with another failed American effort, the South Vietnamese army in the 1970s, said retired Lt. Gen. Daniel Bolger, who commanded the U.S.-led coalition’s mission to train Afghan forces in 2011-2013”.