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Video Of Taliban Fighters Executing Afghan Commandos Spurs Criticism Of Biden
- By The Financial District
- Jul 16, 2021
- 2 min read
A video obtained by CNN of the Taliban executing 22 Afghan commandos as they surrendered has exacerbated criticism of the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan ordered by President Joe Biden.
The massacre, which human-rights groups have described as an apparent war crime, adds to the many questions being asked about the Afghan military's capacity to defeat or even contain the Taliban now that the US is pulling out, John Haltiwanger reported for Business Insider.
Responding to the news of the executed Afghan commandos, GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a US Air Force veteran who flew missions in Afghanistan, tweeted: "This is horrible-yet it's the reality of announcing the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Removing the peacekeepers and leaving the Afghan people without support is a grave mistake, Mr. President."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday called Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal a "global embarrassment."
The incident took place on June 16 in the town of Dawlat Abad in Faryab province, which is close to Afghanistan's border with Turkmenistan. The Taliban dismissed the video as a fabrication. But the Red Cross confirmed that 22 bodies were retrieved, and CNN spoke with witnesses and verified videos of the incident.
The withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan - set to be complete by the end of August - marks an end to the longest conflict in US history. But the US pullout does not mean an end to violent conflict in Afghanistan, which has seen consistent fighting for about four decades.
The Taliban last week said it's taken over 85% of the country, and with regional militias popping up across Afghanistan, there are worries that the war may escalate after the US departure. "Civil war is certainly a path that can be visualized if it continues on the trajectory it's on," Gen. Austin S. Miller, who stepped down as the top US commander in Afghanistan on Monday, said earlier this month.
