The Taliban terror group on Wednesday marked the third anniversary of President Joe Biden’s help in restoring power in Afghanistan by hosting a major military parade at the site of the former U.S. airbase in Bagram, showcasing American-made equipment and hosting envoys from Iran and China.
August 15 marks three years since the fundamentalist terrorist group Taliban stormed Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, as then-President Ashraf Ghani fled by helicopter. The Afghan army had collapsed by then, and the Taliban took power in an almost bloodless operation. The Taliban remain the invincible government of Afghanistan at the time of writing, although no country officially recognizes them.
Ahead of the fall of Kabul, President Biden announced that the United States, after two decades of presence on the Afghan battlefield, would abandon an agreement with the Taliban under which they would withdraw from the country by May 1, 2021, in exchange for the Taliban not attacking Americans and severing ties with terrorist organisations such as al-Qaida. Biden replaced the agreement, brokered by his predecessor, Donald Trump, with an extension of the war until September 2021, but this never happened as the Taliban had by then toppled the formal Afghan government.
The Taliban’s swift dismantling of Afghanistan’s government forced an unplanned and deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops and left the jihadists with millions of dollars’ worth of American equipment, some of which was on display Wednesday at the former Bagram Air Base.
“Taliban forces towed Soviet-era tanks and artillery to the former US air base in Bagram, which also houses Chinese and Iranian diplomats,” Turkish media reported. Daily SabaCiting international organizations, Reported“A fleet of motorbikes loaded with yellow jerrycans, often used to transport improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during battles with international forces, also passed the assembled officials.”
The media also identified a “US-made armored personnel carrier” that was driven in the parade. A report released by the US Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in February 2023 found that Biden left at least $7.2 billion worth of military equipment behind with the Taliban.
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The Biden administration vacated Bagram shortly before the fall of Kabul, leaving behind supplies and an estimated 5,000 jihadist prisoners, one of whom was later identified as the perpetrator of a suicide bombing. Massacre On August 26, 2021, 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. military personnel clashed at Kabul’s international airport.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Taliban Made China and Iran have invited unnamed “Chinese and Iranian diplomats” to mark the parade as an international event. Neither country formally recognises the Taliban as a government but maintains friendly ties with the group. China became the first country to host a Taliban ambassador to Beijing in December.
China’s state-run CGTN network on Tuesday gave favorable coverage of the Taliban’s celebrations in Afghanistan, showing videos of a parade, what appeared to be a youth athletics meet and a paratrooper display.
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Sirajuddin Haqqani gave a speech at the Bagram parade. The New York Times–Published A terrorist who serves as the Taliban’s “Minister of the Interior.”
“My message to the international community is that there is no need to be discouraged by the fact that you took away our independence and we succeeded in getting it back,” Haqqani said. Claimed“We don’t want to blame anyone. We are willing to work in good faith to create favorable conditions for them to help us rebuild Afghanistan, just as they helped us during the occupation.”
Official Taliban propaganda omitted the conciliatory tone that Haqqani used in his speeches and openly praised “jihad” against America.
“To achieve this day, we Mujahideen [holy warriors] “The people have undergone a lot of hardships and difficulties and have survived as a result of jihad, struggle, perseverance and tenacity,” an official statement released on social media by Taliban top spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. read“The powerful attacking forces of that time were defeated and our jihad struggle was won.”
“Two decades of infidel occupation and the martyrdom and sacrifices of our people against it have left great lessons for future generations that must never be forgotten,” the statement continued. “We are committed to an Islamic system that has been achieved through the great efforts of the Afghan people and in whose shadow Allah and the ruling religion of Afghanistan are rooted. Sharia [Islamic law] It has been implemented.”
of Kabul TimesIt is a Taliban propaganda newspaper. Honorable “Mujahidism He accused the American people and Afghan heroes of “murdering Americans and our NATO allies.”
“During the two decades of US and NATO occupation, the mujahidi nation and heroes of Afghanistan launched jihad and resistance against the invaders and never stood by for a moment,” it claimed.
of Kabul Times Furthermore, the Taliban made the puzzling claim that they had “ended all ethnic, regional, racial and religious discrimination in the country.”
Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Hassan Akhund said separately issued A statement telling the Afghan people that “their obligations do not end with victory in jihad.”
“We now have the responsibility to strengthen the government, rebuild the country, protect the property and honor of our people, and compensate for the damage caused by past wars,” he ordered.
