Ex-Afghan VP calls it 'futile' to argue with US Prez Biden; 'won't lose spirit like NATO'

Now the former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who went underground after the Taliban declared its control over Afghanistan, said that it is “futile” to argue with US President Joe Biden over the ongoing crisis in the country. While Biden has drawn flak for ramping up US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the latest press conference he held his country’s stance strongly and said the soldiers did not enter the war-torn country for “nation building.” 

Saleh took to Twitter on Wednesday and said that the Afghan nationals must prove that the South Asian country is not like Vietnam and Taliban, isn’t like Viet Cong. Viet Cong, or Vietnamese Communists or the guerrilla force had the backing of the North Vietnamese Army and it fought against South Vietnam and the United States. Since NATO’s 9,500-strong forces also followed US suit and retreated its troops, the ex-Afghan VP said that, unlike US and NATO, Afghan nationals “have not lost spirit.” Even as Taliban readies for so-called “peaceful transfer,” Saleh said Afghanistan witnesses “enormous opportunities ahead.”

'Will Never Bow To Taliban’: Afghan’s ex-VP

Previously, on August 15, Saleh made it clear that he “will never bow to Taliban.” Reports have stated that it appeared that Saleh has retreated to the last remaining holdout which is the Panjshir Valley in the northeast of Kabul. “I won't disappoint millions who listened to me. I will never be under one ceiling with the Taliban. NEVER," he wrote in English on Twitter on Sunday, before going underground.

A day later, on August 16, pictures even emerged on social media that showed the former Afghan VP with his son and former mentor and famed anti-Taliban fighter Ahmed Shah Massoud in Panjshir. Meanwhile, the Taliban’s seizure of power came after NATO withdrew its 9,500-strong mission on the back of a decision announced by US President Joe Biden to bring American soldiers deployed in the war-stricken nation back home.

Meanwhile, the United States President Joe Biden, who drew flak for ramping up American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan paving way for the Taliban to gain ground, stood strong on his decision. He noted that the “vital interest” that the US had in Afghanistan was “preventing terrorist attack” and not “nation-building.” Critics of Biden have accused him of pushing the innocent Afghan nationals under Taliban control. However, he said, “Our mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to have been nation building.”

IMAGE: AP/Facebook