John Kirby says US has not lost influence over Taliban despite withdrawal

A Pentagon spokesman insisted on Sunday that the precipitous US withdrawal from Afghanistan would not cost the country leverage over the Taliban – but a Republican congressman who fought in the torn country. the war called the withdrawal a “crushing defeat”.

John Kirby was asked on “Fox News Sunday” whether the Afghan government had lost its biggest bargaining chip in peace talks with the Taliban due to the hasty exit of the United States, marked by the nightly retreat of the United States. Bagram airfield last week which allowed the looters to leave. American equipment.

“You had this argument that somehow if you have boots on the pitch all of a sudden you have all this leverage that hasn’t worked in the five , Last 10 or 15 years, Chris, when we had 100,000 troops in the field. So the idea that if you have boots on the ground all of a sudden it gives you leverage didn’t exactly been the all-time high so far, ”Kirby told host Chris Wallace.

He went on to say that the United States has “diplomatic power”.

“We are still trying to negotiate a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan. And nothing has changed in our commitment in this regard. And the rest of the international community must also remain committed to this kind of outcome so… that kind of progress is not left behind, ”Kirby said.

But Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), A veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, noted that the Taliban have claimed they now control about 85 percent of Afghanistan.

“It’s a crushing defeat. You know, the Taliban always had a saying, they said the United States, America has the watches, but we have the time, “Kinzinger said on NBC News” Meet the Press.

“You know, I am, I am proud of the American people for standing on this mission for 20 years. In fact, we had to do it longer, ”he said.

“The Taliban survived the will of the United States. It wasn’t a hot war, really. It was essentially a peacekeeping operation. And we may have to go back now. It’s a crushing defeat, and I’m really sad about it, honestly, ”he continued.

“We only had 2,500 troops there, 5,000 NATO troops, and the Afghan government was waging 98% of the fighting against the Taliban. It’s no wonder they crumble when the United States says, “We’re gone,” he said.

President Biden, in a speech last week announcing that the United States would complete the troop withdrawal by the end of August instead of the originally planned September 11, touted the ability of Afghan forces to provide security for the country.

“The likelihood that the Taliban will invade everything and possess the whole country is highly improbable,” he said in his speech to the White House, adding that “the mission has not yet failed.”

Wallace asked Kirby about the Taliban’s gain in strength and territory since the Biden administration announced the withdrawal schedule and whether Afghan forces would be able to withstand the assault.

He noted that militant fighters have “a lot more capabilities” but it is also a “moment of leadership” for Afghan forces.

“It is their right and their responsibility now to defend their citizens and their country. And I think when we look back, whatever the results, Chris, we’ll look back and we can say that it came down to leadership, civilian leadership and military leadership on the ground, ”he said. declared. mentionned.

He also stressed that the United States will continue to provide military and financial support.

Wallace pressed him on the fears expressed by many critics of this withdrawal that if the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, al-Qaeda would be able to reconstitute itself as the Islamic State did after the withdrawal of former President Barack Obama of Iraq.

The United States launched war in Afghanistan in October 2001 after the Taliban harbored Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden while he was planning the September 11 terrorist attacks.

“We have the ability to do it even from afar, even from these bases in the Middle East, from an aircraft carrier that is in the Indian Ocean, we can do it. And we have proven that we can do it, even in recent years, in places like Libya. It’s not like we’ve never done this before or there’s a piece of land that we can’t reach if we absolutely need it, ”he said.