MONITORING (SW) – President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has said that since 2015, Afghan people lost over 40,000 civilians and military personnel while 98 Americans lives have been lost in fight against terrorism.
He said this talking exclusively with Christine Amanpour of the CNN. “We are in an open moment; the incoming Biden administration is an immense opportunity – to work with us” and “to define what the US security interests in Afghanistan and the region are – no one wants a return to a heavy footprint”, Ghani said responding to a question about the new US Administration.
It is important to note that President Ghani said in January 2019 that more than 45,000 members of the country’s security forces have been killed since he became leader in 2014. “Since I’ve become president… over 45,000 Afghan security personnel have paid the ultimate sacrifice,” President Ghani said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Defense analysts believe the casualty figures among the security forces remain high. Analyst Atiqullah Amarkhail said local officials in the provinces deliberately under report the casualty figures to secure their positions.
He added the relatively lower rate of casualties among foreign forces suggests they are least involved in the fighting now, and the Afghan forces are on the front line in this war.
This followed a statement by Mike Pompeo in which the US Secretary of State called for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. “Our mission in Afghanistan is to eliminate Al-Qaeda and threats to the American homeland. Don’t need 10s of 1,000s of U.S. troops on the ground to do that. We have partners: brave Afghans, @NATO forces. We also have the ability to project power from afar”, the US Secretary of State said in a series of tweets.
He added no U.S. servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan in almost a year, and Afghans are finally discussing peace and reconciliation among themselves.
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