"We have equipped about 300,000 Afghan soldiers with all kinds of advanced training and weapons over the last 20 years. Let me emphasize that every modern weapon that any modern army has, so Afghans The army can easily fight about 75,000 Taliban fighters. "
These are the words of US President Joe Biden, who said in a recent statement that the Taliban could not come close to the standard of training of Afghan forces and police.
Despite President Biden's confidence in the Afghan army, the Taliban's recent advance in Afghanistan and reports of Afghan forces retreating in many areas have raised questions about the capabilities of Afghan forces and their ability to fight the Taliban.
While the video of the alleged killing of 22 Afghan commandos by the Taliban has surfaced on the US broadcaster CNN in recent days, anger against the Taliban has increased, while the retreat of Afghan forces in many areas has also been questioned. Being picked up
A few days ago, CNN aired a video in which Taliban fighters allegedly shot and killed 22 Afghan commandos despite surrendering in Daulatabad, Faryab Province, Afghanistan.
The Taliban called the CNN video a fabrication and expressed dissatisfaction with the killing of the commandos.
Over the past 10 years, the United States has reportedly spent more than ارب 8 billion on equipping the Afghan Air Force with fighter jets and other technical assistance.
The Afghan Air Force has A-29 Super Ticano and AC-208 Caravan aircraft, while US-supplied Black Hawk helicopters are considered extremely difficult to repair.
These planes are capable of hitting targets on the ground from the air with laser-guided missiles.
Special Operations Forces, Commandos
According to analysts, it is easier for the Taliban to compete with ordinary Afghan soldiers, but Afghan commandos with advanced commando training remain a headache for them.
Afghan commandos carry out rescue operations, protect key government installations and other special operations, and for these reasons they are considered the backbone of the Afghan forces.
According to the Committing Terrorism Center, the number of these commandos is 20,000 to 25,000.
In recent days, these commandos have been involved in a fierce battle against Afghan forces and the Taliban in the Afghan province of Kandahar.
The Taliban had earlier claimed control of Spin Boldak, an area in Kandahar province bordering Pakistan. However, Afghan forces later claimed control of the area from the Taliban.
What is the role of the Afghan police in the conflict?
According to Afghan analyst Najibullah Azad, the role of the Afghan police is similar to that of the security forces.
He says his job is to protect the lives, property and property of civilians, but the police have been fighting alongside security forces in the kind of fighting that has been going on in Afghanistan for the past 20 years.
He said that the total number of police officers is about one hundred and seven thousand, including the Border Police, which is also deployed on the landlocked borders of Afghanistan.
Najibullah Azad says police are also taking the lead in countering bombings and sudden terrorist attacks in Afghan cities.
Afghan government appeals to militias to join fight
All eyes are on the militias and armed groups that have fought the Taliban in the past due to the Taliban's advance and the withdrawal of Afghan forces from some areas, which have not yet weighed in on either side.
The Afghan government last month launched a process called "National Mobilization" to recruit volunteers to work with Afghan forces to fight the Taliban.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has also urged militias in the country to rise up against the Taliban and defend the country.
According to a recent report in the American magazine The Week, several groups have organized against the Taliban at the public level. However, militias fighting in the Soviet war and the civil war in the 1990s have not yet emerged.
SEE ALSO: Who are the 'Sangurian' fighters fighting against the Taliban?
Pashtun, Hazara, Uzbek and Tajik militant groups are present in the country, the report said. Militant commanders such as former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, former Governor of Northern Afghanistan's Balkh Province Muhammad Ata Noor, Jawzjan Province's Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum, Herat Province's Muhammad Ismail Khan and Maidan Wardak Province's Abdul Khani Alipur and Abdul Rasool Sayyaf are still in the country. I have influence.
According to analyst Najibullah Azad, most of these large groups have been staunch opponents of the Taliban and could join the fight if needed. However, most of them are currently monitoring the situation.
Fighters from the Sangurian militia, alongside security forces in the Afghan province of Helmand, are also battling the Taliban.
US and Allied Cooperation with Afghan Forces
The US government's Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a report released a few days ago that the United States had spent 88 88 billion over the past 20 years on training and building the capacity of Afghan security forces.
However, US officials remain optimistic about the capabilities of Afghan forces and their ability to fight the Taliban, the report said. But the capabilities of the Afghan forces are ambiguous.
CIGAR is a government agency set up to oversee US reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan that submits a report every three months.
The report says the answer to what the Afghan forces will do after the end of the US mission in Afghanistan and the end of US military support for Afghan forces seems difficult.
The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) hopes that the Afghan forces, equipped with modern facilities and weapons, are fully capable of fighting the Taliban.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told the media last Wednesday that Afghan forces have more resources than the Taliban. They also have more ground and air force resources and financial and logistical support from the United States.
India's cooperation with Afghan forces
In addition to the United States and its allies, India has been training Afghan forces and supporting the air force.
Afghan Ambassador to New Delhi Farid Mamondzai recently confirmed that India had provided combat helicopters and other military equipment as well as trained hundreds of Afghan soldiers.
According to a recent report in the Indian newspaper 'Indian Express', India has provided 285 military vehicles to Afghanistan, in addition to the existing Afghan Airlines.
Three Air India planes were also provided to revive Riyadh's operations.
US officials have also praised India's military assistance to Afghanistan.
Women commissioned recruits of the Afghan forces have been training at the Military Academy in Chennai, India.
A few days ago, Afghan Ambassador to New Delhi Farid Mamondzai told an English newspaper that if talks with the Taliban failed and the war continued, Afghanistan could also seek military assistance from India.
It should be noted that despite the fighting between the Taliban and Afghan forces in Afghanistan, talks have taken place between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
Challenges Facing Afghan Forces
Earlier this year, Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko said in a statement that the Afghan Air Force would not be able to maintain its aircraft for long after the departure of US and foreign contractors.
According to a report in the American magazine Politico, the Afghan Air Force is facing difficulties after the departure of a large number of contractors. Because out-of-country contractors are helping Afghan Air Force engineers through 'Zoom' or other video apps that don't seem to be doing much good.
The report says it appears difficult for the Afghan Air Force to assist Afghan troops fighting the Taliban in different parts of the country.
Experts say the surrender of Afghan forces in many areas has affected their morale.
The ability to evacuate bodies or wounded from clashes or target Taliban strongholds is also feared to be affected in the absence of the US Air Force.
Afghan analyst Najibullah Azad dismisses this impression. He says the Afghan Air Force is still active and capable of fighting the Taliban.
According to him, there are still some contractors in Afghanistan who are providing technical assistance to the Afghan Air Force.
Excessive reliance on the United States is the cause of the shortcomings?
Experts say that after the US occupation of Afghanistan, mismanagement and corruption also increased in the country, which was mainly due to the influx of US dollars in the country.
Sami Yousafzai, an expert on Afghan affairs, says many Afghan warlords and militias recruited their own people into the Afghan forces, as well as many ghost soldiers.
He said that in the recent battle with the Taliban, only 20,000 to 25,000 Afghan commandos are fighting bravely who are regularly trained, otherwise other soldiers would either surrender or resist due to the Taliban's rapid advance. Avoiding
According to experts, the Afghan Air Force will face problems after the departure of American and other foreign contractors.
Sami Yousafzai says there is no commander in Afghanistan's military leadership who can boost the army's morale and fight with enthusiasm.
According to him, another misconception of the Afghan government was that the United States would never leave Afghanistan and with its military cooperation, the Afghan army has been fighting the Taliban easily. But with the gradual withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2017, weaknesses in the Afghan military have begun to emerge.
According to Sami Yousafzai, various ethnic groups in Afghanistan, especially non-Pashtuns in northern Afghanistan, were not happy with the Ashraf Ghani government. That is why non-Pashtun soldiers in northern Afghanistan have surrendered and joined the Taliban.
Can the Afghan army still be organized?
On the question of reorganizing the Afghan forces, Sami Yousafzai says that once the army has a tradition of surrender, it is very difficult to raise their morale again.
According to him, there are still soldiers in the Afghan army who want to fight with enthusiasm, but when the chain of surrender begins and there is an enemy like the Taliban on the other side, it becomes very difficult to reorganize the army.
Afghan army claims victory against Taliban
Despite the performance of Afghan forces against the Taliban and the news of the surrender, the Afghan army says it has carried out effective operations against the Taliban on various fronts.
According to the Afghan Ministry of Defense, in recent days, Afghan forces have killed hundreds of Taliban fighters in various operations, while pushing the Taliban back from many areas.
Afghan officials claim that the Taliban are claiming success in Afghanistan through false propaganda, although the ground realities are very different.
Analyst Najibullah Azad says Afghan forces have strategically cleared areas for the Taliban so that their identities can be exposed to the Afghan people and the world.
He said that in all the areas occupied by the Taliban, despite their promises to the world and assurances of respect for human rights, they maintained their old ways, destroyed civilian property and oppressed the people.
The Taliban have denied damaging civilian property or targeting civilians.
Experts say the claims of Afghan forces and the Taliban are valid, but fighting the Taliban on their own after the withdrawal of US troops is still a major challenge for Afghan forces.
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