NATO: Goodbye to Afghanistan

Biden, other leaders to give symbolic farewell at summit

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2011, file photo, Pfc. Bryan Corteal, 22, of Bullhead City, Ariz., with the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Battalion 27th Infantry Regiment based in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, hikes up to begin an overwatch shift on a hilltop observation post at Combat Outpost Monti in Kunar province, Afghanistan. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday, June 14, in their last summit before America winds up its longest “forever war” and the military pulls out for good. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2011, file photo, Pfc. Bryan Corteal, 22, of Bullhead City, Ariz., with the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Battalion 27th Infantry Regiment based in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, hikes up to begin an overwatch shift on a hilltop observation post at Combat Outpost Monti in Kunar province, Afghanistan. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday, June 14, in their last summit before America winds up its longest “forever war” and the military pulls out for good. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

BRUSSELS -- President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts will bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan today in their last summit before America winds up its war and the U.S. military pulls out for good.

NATO's leaders will reaffirm the strength of their alliance and go back to what they know best: their old nemesis, Russia. Biden will brief his partners before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was not invited to the NATO summit.

"At this point, you get the impression that NATO leaders almost want to downplay and leave quietly, rather than making too big a deal of it, and going on to focus on other business," said Erik Brattberg, director of the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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"There is little appetite left to continue investing in Afghanistan," Brattberg said. "There is a sense of being fed up in a lot of NATO countries, and now it's just time to pack the bags and get out with little consideration about the consequences that could have on the ground."

The 18-year effort cost the United States alone $2.26 trillion, and the price in lives includes 2,442 American troops and 1,144 personnel among U.S. allies, according to figures from Brown University.

Those casualty figures dwarf Afghan losses, which include more than 47,000 civilians, up to 69,000 members of the national armed forces and police, and more than 51,000 opposition fighters.

The military effort followed the 2001 arrival of a U.S.-led coalition that ousted the Taliban for harboring al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Few experts argue that it brought long-term stability, meaningful democracy or security.

With the U.S. leading the withdrawal, European allies and Canada want to hear Biden's thinking about how security will be assured at their embassies, along major transport routes and above all at Kabul's airport.

Many wonder whether the Afghan government can survive a resurgent Taliban. Some think Kabul's capitulation is only a matter of time.

"We are currently in intense discussions with our member states, the United States, NATO and the United Nations on the absence of essential security conditions for our continued diplomatic presence. It will be difficult to keep it" in place, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

For now, NATO plans to leave civilian advisers to help build up government institutions. It's unclear who will protect them. The 30-nation alliance is also weighing whether to train Afghan special forces outside the country.

As an organization, NATO will not provide sanctuary for Afghans who worked alongside its forces -- routinely risking their lives -- although a few member nations will. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said it's simply time to leave.

"Afghanistan has come a long way, both when it comes to building strong, capable security forces, but also when it comes to social and economic progress," he said. "At some stage, it has to be the Afghans that take full responsibility for peace and stability in their own country."

Few Afghans share that assessment of their nation, which has a 54% poverty rate, runaway crime, rampant corruption and an illicit economy that outstrips the legal one.

When NATO took charge of international security operations in 2003, Afghanistan was its first major mission outside Europe and North America. The aim was to stabilize the government, build up local security forces and remove a potential base for extremist groups.

Yet 18 years later, security is at its lowest ebb for most Afghans. The capital is rife with criminal gangs, many linked to powerful warlords, and there are routine attacks by an upstart Islamic State.

Quite early into the operations, as combat took its toll on NATO troops, extremists and civilians, a stalemate developed. The Taliban could not be routed from outlying areas, but neither could its fighters seize and hold major cities.

Troop surges made little difference, and it soon became clear that NATO's military training effort was its exit strategy. Only by creating a big army capable of standing on its own feet could the organization wind up its operations.

But the Afghan army was plagued by corruption, desertion and low morale. Experts say it still is, and this remains a major concern as NATO insists on funding the nation's security forces after it's gone.

James Dobbins, a former Afghan envoy who now works for the RAND Corporation think tank, predicts the exit will mean the loss of government legitimacy.

"The U.S. departure will be seen as a victory for the Taliban and a defeat for the United States," he said in an opinion piece. "The result will be a blow to American credibility, the weakening of deterrence and the value of American reassurance elsewhere."

KABUL BOMBING

Meanwhile, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for bombing two minivans in a mostly Shiite neighborhood in the Afghan capital that killed seven people. Among the dead were two employees of Afghanistan's state-run film company, a colleague said Sunday.

In a statement late Saturday, Afghanistan's Islamic State affiliate said its operatives blew up two vans carrying "disbeliever Shiites" using sticky bombs. Such bombs slapped onto cars trapped in Kabul's chaotic traffic are the newest weapons terrorizing Afghans in the increasingly lawless nation.

Film director Sahra Karimi said in a tweet that Fatima Mohammadi and Tayiba Musavi, who worked for the Afghan Film Organization, were among the six killed in the first attack. Their families identified their burned bodies in the forensic hospital of Kabul, she said.

Karimi said Mohammadi and Musavi were animators working on a film for children and were returning home.

The second bombing took place just 1.25 miles away in front of Muhammad Ali Jinnah hospital, where a majority of covid-19 patients are admitted, killing one person and wounding four.

Information for this article was contributed by Kathy Gannon and Maamoun Youssef of The Associated Press.

FILE - This July 25, 2015, file photo shows Hamid Karzai International airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. With the U.S. leading the withdrawal from Afghanistan, European allies and Canada want to hear more about President Joe Biden’s thinking. They are concerned about how security will be assured at their embassies, along major transport routes and above all at Kabul’s airport. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini, File)
FILE - This July 25, 2015, file photo shows Hamid Karzai International airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. With the U.S. leading the withdrawal from Afghanistan, European allies and Canada want to hear more about President Joe Biden’s thinking. They are concerned about how security will be assured at their embassies, along major transport routes and above all at Kabul’s airport. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini, File)
FILE - In this June 11, 2021, file photo, President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attend the G-7 summit at the Carbis Bay Hotel in Carbis Bay, St. Ives, Cornwall, England. Biden and his NATO counterparts bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday, June 14, in their last summit before America winds up its longest “forever war” and the military pulls out for good. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool via AP, File)
FILE - In this June 11, 2021, file photo, President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attend the G-7 summit at the Carbis Bay Hotel in Carbis Bay, St. Ives, Cornwall, England. Biden and his NATO counterparts bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday, June 14, in their last summit before America winds up its longest “forever war” and the military pulls out for good. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool via AP, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2009, file photo, U.S. soldiers from the 5th Striker Brigades walk next to armored vehicles as they arrive at their base on the outskirts of Spin Boldak, about 100 kilometers (63 miles) southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday, June 14, in their last summit before America winds up its longest “forever war” and the military pulls out for good. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2009, file photo, U.S. soldiers from the 5th Striker Brigades walk next to armored vehicles as they arrive at their base on the outskirts of Spin Boldak, about 100 kilometers (63 miles) southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday, June 14, in their last summit before America winds up its longest “forever war” and the military pulls out for good. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
FILE - In this March 6, 2021, file photo, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the opening ceremony of the new legislative session of the Parliament in Kabul, Afghanistan. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday, June 14, in their last summit before America winds up its longest “forever war” and the military pulls out for good. Ghani was not invited to NATO's summit. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
FILE - In this March 6, 2021, file photo, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the opening ceremony of the new legislative session of the Parliament in Kabul, Afghanistan. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday, June 14, in their last summit before America winds up its longest “forever war” and the military pulls out for good. Ghani was not invited to NATO's summit. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
FILE - In this June 10, 2021, file photo, President Joe Biden speaks ahead of the G-7 summit in St. Ives, England. Biden and his NATO counterparts bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday, June 14, in their last summit before America winds up its longest “forever war” and the military pulls out for good. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - In this June 10, 2021, file photo, President Joe Biden speaks ahead of the G-7 summit in St. Ives, England. Biden and his NATO counterparts bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday, June 14, in their last summit before America winds up its longest “forever war” and the military pulls out for good. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - In this April 13, 2021, file photo, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels. U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday, June 14, in their last summit before America winds up its longest “forever war” and the military pulls out for good. Stoltenberg says it's simply time to leave. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, Pool, File)
FILE - In this April 13, 2021, file photo, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels. U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday, June 14, in their last summit before America winds up its longest “forever war” and the military pulls out for good. Stoltenberg says it's simply time to leave. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, Pool, File)

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