US defence officials testifying before the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee suggested the deal between the Taliban and the Trump administration worked in the Afghan militants’ favour.
The so-called Doha agreement was signed in February 2020 and set a date for the US to withdraw its troops.
The BBC reports that General Frank McKenzie said the deal had a ‘really pernicious effect’ on the Afghan government and military. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin agreed, saying the agreement had helped the Taliban get ‘stronger’.
In addition to setting a withdrawal date, the Doha agreement included broad obligations on the Taliban to take steps to prevent groups such as al-Qaeda from threatening the security of the US and its allies.
After his election, US President Joe Biden continued the plan for withdrawal but with an end date of 31 August, instead of May.
As head of the US Central Command, General McKenzie oversaw the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which marked the end of a 20-year presence in the country and America’s longest war.
General McKenzie told the committee the Doha agreement had a strong psychological effect on the Afghan government because it set a date for ‘when they could expect all assistance to end’.
He had believed ‘for quite a while’ that if the US reduced the number of its military advisers in Afghanistan below 2 500, the Afghan government and military would inevitably collapse.
He said the troop reduction ordered by President Biden in April was (after the Doha agreement) ‘the other nail in the coffin’.
Defence Secretary Austin said that by committing the US to ending air strikes against the Taliban, the Doha agreement meant the Islamist group ‘got stronger, they increased their offensive operations against Afghan security forces, and the Afghans were losing a lot of people on a weekly basis’.