Israeli Media: US Withdrawal from Afghanistan a Sign of Weakness
Yossi Kuperwasser, an Israeli intelligence and security expert, points out that the fast fall of the Afghan government is proof of US obstacles in comprehending the Islamic world.
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Taliban fighters ride in an Afghan National Directorate of Security car in Kandahar.
A researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and a Brigadier-General in the Israeli reserve army, Yossi Kuperwasser, said that the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and the US-funded army against Taliban (amounting to 300,000 soldiers with advanced equipment!), is a reason to make the Israelis concerned.
He complained that US strategy in executing liberalist policies without taking into consideration the cultural and political frameworks was a miscalculation from the start. He noted that: "this is just another example of the difficulties the West, particularly US intelligence, faces in dealing with the Islamic world."
On a global scale, Kuperwasser believes that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan will be seen as a display of weakness. he asserted: "The departure will be seen as a sign of US weakness which stems from a refusal to sacrifice human lives or pay up in the ongoing fight against radical Islam."
Finally, the Israeli researcher stated that this action will "boost radical Islamist morale like Iran, al-Qaeda, and ISIS; it will push them to fight the US and its allies, including Israel."
The US withdrawal from the Middle East will affect Iraq and Syria
Nir Dvori, a military analyst for Israeli television channel 12, stated that the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan will affect "Israel" and that it is an event that the whole Middle East is watching.
All US allies, according to Dovri, are monitoring this event and wondering when the US will turn its back on them.
He went on to add that the US withdrawing from the Middle East is part of the ongoing strategy that has been in place for some time, and that this strategy has now reached its peak. According to him, it may affect Iraq, the US in Syria, and, of course, Iran.
Furthermore, he stated that: "what is happening today is ceaseless terrorism, that the situation is worsening, that Iraq and Syria are unstable, and that all of this would harm Israel."
"We must be very aware that this won’t happen in our region"
Amos Gilad, a researcher and head of the Institute for Policy and Strategy remarked, regarding the US withdrawal and Taliban control over Afghanistan, that strengthening connections with Arab regimes that stand up to these "dark forces" is essential.
He also stressed the importance of relations with Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf states, adding that these relationships are significant achievements - at least in terms of intelligence cooperation. He suggested that "Israel" must continue to expand its relationships, despite widespread criticism, as the alternative would be "disastrous."
Gilad went on to add that "US intelligence made a lot of errors along the decision-making process." It should be noted that any beginner analyst may forecast that Afghanistan would fall into the hands of the Taliban, but that such a rapid fall was not taken into consideration by the US government.
"We must be very aware that this won’t happen in our region," Gilad warned.
In the same context, on Sunday, an Afghan presidency source said President Ashraf Ghani agreed to resign in light of the deteriorating situation in the country; he had left Kabul for Tajikistan.
