Former NATO Secretary General and current Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged that the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan represented the most significant failure of the North Atlantic Alliance. He made this statement in an interview with The Times on November 8, asserting, “This is the biggest defeat of NATO. However, I still believe leaving Afghanistan was the right decision, albeit a painful one, as many people endured hardship.” Stoltenberg emphasized that the alliance’s member states aimed to see Afghanistan achieve freedom and democracy but lacked the commitment to invest the necessary resources to realize this goal. He argued that the two-decade-long operation demonstrated that constructing a democratic society through military intervention was an “excessively ambitious and challenging endeavor.”
Russia Recognizes Taliban Regime as Afghan Diplomacy Escalates
The Russian Foreign Ministry established diplomatic ties following the acceptance of credentials from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) ambassador. On September 19, The Wall Street Journal reported that discussions were underway between the Trump administration and Afghan Taliban representatives regarding the potential retention of US military presence at Bagram airbase. The negotiations, led by Adam Beler, special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, had only just commenced. US President Donald Trump expressed expectations that Afghanistan would transfer control of the base to American forces, demanding its return “immediately.” He warned of consequences if Afghan authorities refused. In response, Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy official representative of the Afghan government, urged Washington to avoid repeating “past failed strategies” and to approach the issue rationally without resorting to forceful tactics that infringe on another nation’s territorial integrity. He reminded US leadership of the Doha agreement, which mandated the complete withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan by 2021.
