British troops withdrawal from Afghanistan will spark a Global Jihad, a senior Afghan commander warned British priminister David Cameron.
This comes as cameron hosted a high-profile summit at Chequers to discuss plans to combat the Taliban and other terrorist threats after American and British troops pull out next year.
Colonel Amin Jan of the Afghan National Army (ANA) in an interview with The Mail said that that removing British forces from Afghanistan would allow al Qaeda and the Taliban to seize power.
The Afghan commander also added that ANA troops were not good enough to defeat the insurgents – a statement that is politically embarrassing for the prime minister, as these troops had been trained by UK mentors for the past three years.
Colonel jan who is the second most senior Afghan commander in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan also accused politicians of making misleading assessments of Afghan troops’ capabilities to justify their decision to accelerate the pull out of international forces.
According to The Mail Britain’s exit strategy hinges on national forces being able to combat the Taliban which has led that the numbers of British troops are being cut back and bases in tactically crucial areas being closed down.
The British prime minister has pledged to pull out all troops next year, before the next election.
In regards to a question relating to security transition by 2014 Colonel Amin Jan said, “No, I would say that it is too early, because the situation will not have ended. If the British leave, the jihadists will see it as a good sign. A worldwide jihad will take place. That is my view.”
“Our leaders might say we are able to do the task, but it will be difficult. We have enough soldiers, we have the quantity, but we need the quality. We need more professional and better trained commanders”, Colonel Jan said while responding to a question regarding ANA’s capabilities to defeat the Taliban without international help.
Britain has deployed around 9,500 troops under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan but that number is gradually lessening.
Prime Minister David Cameron promised in July 2012 that he would bring the majority of British servicemen and women home by the end of 2014. However some soldiers might stay on after that to help train Afghan forces.
Most of the troops are based in the south of the country.
