ANU International Security Professor John Blaxland says the “remarkable collapse” of the Afghan military led the Taliban to be able to exert control over the country sooner than expected.
“We’ve seen clearly a remarkable collapse of the Afghanistan national security forces that was much faster than most pundits have anticipated, reports were suggesting they’d hold out for a few more months,” he told Sky News Australia.
Professor Blaxland said it was believed the Afghan military would “at least last until 9/11” which was the projected day to have all American troops out.
Professor Blaxland said this was a “manifestation of the United States’ deal” with the Taliban and such a deal destroyed the morale of the Afghani army.
“In doing so sapped the morale of the Afghan government and the national security forces in Afghanistan to the point where, despite the billions of dollars spent in arming the Afghan national security forces, it came down to morale,” he said.
