Nato walks fine line between staying and withdrawing from Afghanistan

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says there is danger in disorderly troop pull-out

Nato soldiers, such as these pictured in Torkham area near the Pakistan-Afghanistan in 2014, help train and advise Afghan forces. Reuters

Nato faces “hard decisions” in 2021 over ending its two-decade presence in Afghanistan, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

Almost 2,000 US troops were withdrawn from the country last month.

Fewer than 12,000 soldiers from Nato countries remain in Afghanistan, mainly as trainers and advisers, but fears are rising that an unco-ordinated withdrawal could jeopardise stability.

Peace talks between the Taliban, which has demanded the withdrawal of Nato forces, and the Afghan government remain delicately poised, while violence persists across the country.

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  US Marines keep watch as unseen Afghan National Army soldiers participate in an IED (improvised explosive device) training exercise at the Shorab Military Camp in 2017. AFP

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  US troops patrol at an Afghan army Base in Logar province on August 7, 2018. Reuters

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  US soldiers patrol a street in central Kabul December 11, 2004. Reuters

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  US troops under Afghanistan's International Security Assistance Force, and Afghan National Army soldiers conduct a joint security patrol in the centre of Kandalay village. AFP

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  US troops patrol at an Afghan National Army (ANA) base in Logar province, Afghanistan in 2018. Reuters

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  US Army soldiers patrol in the village of Chariagen in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province southern Afghanistan in 2011. Reuters

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  Afghan residents chat with US. Army Lieutenant Steven Gibbs as he patrols with his platoon in Pul-e Alam, a town in Logar province, eastern Afghanistan in 2011. Reuters

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  US soldiers gather during an exercise at the Kandahar airbase in Afghanistan in 2005. Reuters

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  U.S. Army soldiers with 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division stand near their armored vehicles before they start their journey home at Contingency Operating Site Kalsu, south of Baghdad, Iraq. AP

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  A handout photo made available by the US Marine Corps shows US Marines inside the perimeter of Al Asad Air Base in Iraq. EPA

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  A US soldier is seen during a handover ceremony of Taji military base from US-led coalition troops to Iraqi security forces, in the base north of Baghdad, Iraq August 23, 2020. Reuters

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  US soldiers have been in Iraq for nearly two decades. AFP

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  US soldiers are seen during a handover ceremony of Taji military base from US-led coalition troops to Iraqi security forces, in the base north of Baghdad, Iraq on August 23, 2020. Reuters

“As we continue to assess the situation in Afghanistan, it is clear that we will face a turning point early next year," Mr Stoltenberg said after an online meeting of Nato foreign ministers.

"If we stay, we risk continued fighting and an even longer-term engagement.

“If we leave, we risk Afghanistan once again becoming a safe haven for international terrorists and the loss of the gains made with such sacrifice.

"So there is a price for staying longer but there is also a price for leaving too soon.

“We will have to take some hard decisions when Nato defence ministers meet next February.

"But whatever we decide, we must do it in a co-ordinated and orderly way."

There has been a surge in violence in Afghanistan this year with often unrelenting Taliban attacks on the country’s beleaguered security forces and the added threat of an ISIS presence.

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  Civil society activists wearing face masks prepare for a campaign to raise awareness of the new coronavirus in Kabul, Afghanistan. AP Photo

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  Afghans show their national IDs as they wait to cross into Afghanistan after Pakistani authorities closed the border at Chaman, Pakistan. EPA

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  Hospital staff wear hazmet suits inside the coronavirus center in Kandahar, Afghanistan. EPA

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  Afghan boys wearing face masks walk at a down town street in Kabul, Afghanistan. AP Photo

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  Afghanistan Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz gives a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan. AP Photo

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  Men walk past Afghan's trucks parked along a road near the closed Pakistan-Afghanistan border amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, in Torkham some 54 kms from Peshahwar. AFP

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  Afhan trucks line up as they wait to cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan closed amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, in Torkham some 54 kms fron Peshawar. AFPMAJEED

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  A Pakistani soldier stands guard at Pak-Afghan border after it was closed due to coronavirus, in Chaman, Pakistan. EPA

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  A man walks past at an empty bus terminal near the closed Pakistan-Afghanistan border amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, in Torkham some 54 kms from Peshahwar. AFP

The already disastrous humanitarian situation has been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

About $12 billion in aid was pledged over the next four years at a conference last month, but much of it is tied to the progress of the peace talks.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was also cautious about withdrawing too soon and said clear conditions must be set if there were to be further troop reductions.

"To safeguard what we have reached so far, we must not take any rash actions," Mr Maas said.

"This is why we call on the alliance to have a very close look at how far the conditions for a further withdrawal have been met to avoid sending a wrong message regarding the peace process."