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Tuesday, August 24, 2021
Judgment and Prediction: Afghanistan Risks of Getting Out of Control
Chan Kung

As there are a number of risk factors in Afghanistan now, as the situation could get out of control, which in turn might lead to several possibilities for the future development of event.

1. Judging from various information, there is an agreement between the United States and the Taliban, and this agreement is time-limited, which is likely to be on August 31. However, the current withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Afghanistan is almost impossible to be completed on this date. The actual completion may require the whole September.

2. The British forces have disregarded the opposition of the United States and evacuated more than 100 personnel from other secret places. This situation may happen again.

3. NGOs from all over the world, including Digital Dunkirk organization of the U.S., have scrambled to gather hundreds of thousands of veterans and are trying to help Afghans to evacuate. This could lead to chaotic situation and other possibilities.

4. The Taliban certainly understand the West’s plans, and once its patience is exhausted, the possibility of armed conflict between the two sides is very high. Recently, "unidentified militants", whom are quite likely to be Taliban personnel, have exchanged fire with the U.S. and German forces, where it has been reported to cause one death and several injuries.

5. If Westerners in Kabul act forcefully, more accidents could happen.

6. The build-up of the U.S. military has now surpassed the size of one brigade, in addition of having air support, which is sufficient to take actions outside the airport, and increases the space and possibility of conflicts.

As time is running out, if the U.S. military withdrawal cannot be completed on time, things might be getting out of control. In this regard, it is clear that the Biden administration has strengthened controls, such as strongly opposing the withdrawal of British troops, so as to avoid the situation from deteriorating, but the effect seems doubtful. If this situation becomes a reality, there are two possible developments. First, the U.S. military may not withdraw, and instead a large-scale military operation based on Kabul Airport will occur. Second, the Taliban might surround and attack the Kabul Airport, and the U.S. troops could evacuate themselves amidst of the armed conflicts. In short, war might erupt surrounding Kabul Airport and it might even spread to the city center of Kabul, causing more serious casualties. All these possibilities will lead to unmanageable situation.

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