The Taliban held their own parade at Bagram Airfield to commemorate the first anniversary of the United States military’s exit from Afghanistan. This, at the time, was the largest facility the United States had in Afghanistan.
Per the Washington Post, the spokesman for the group uploaded the footage on social media, showing warriors moving in lock-step in Western-style clothes, followed by a convoy of military vehicles flying the Taliban’s black and white flag.
Slap to the Face of the US
A spokesman for the Taliban named Zabihullah Mujahid said to the local media present at the event that the gathering was held to commemorate the one year anniversary of the pullout.
He expressed his satisfaction that their nation had been freed on this day and the United States had been ordered to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid: Now the country is on the verge of gaining freedom and has the ability to protect freedom, let our enemies hear it with open ears. Their enemies are the lack of killing oppressed people and women and children. pic.twitter.com/nr7hNx4nfW
— Afghan society (@AfgS786) August 31, 2022
The last of the United States military personnel to leave Afghanistan did so on August 30, 2021.
This was nearly 20 years after a previous generation of service members had first arrived in Afghanistan in the wake of the deadliest terrorist attack ever carried out on American soil.
They left with the same situation as when they arrived, with the Taliban in control and fully prepared to impose stringent cultural and gender-based restrictions on society.
At the beginning of August last year, the Taliban launched a military operation against the government and military that was supported by the United States.
They were met with little opposition and speedily overtook the country, forcing the then-President Ashraf Ghani to escape by the middle of the month.
This urged the United States to launch what constituted the largest military emergency exit effort to date. They overtook the nation in a matter of days.
Survivors and Statements
During the last phase of the withdrawal, approximately 120,000 people were allowed to leave, but thousands more were forced to remain behind.
Unfortunately, some of these people were likely to become targets of the Taliban because they had collaborated with the United States military in the past.
Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the acting prime minister for the Taliban, stated the organization was left with nothing when it seized power in August of last year.
This news comes in spite of the fact the weapons it displayed at the parade appeared to be equipment that had been provided by both the United States and NATO forces.
The Taliban celebrated the anniversary of complete withdrawal of American forces from AFG in Bagram base today.
At the celebration, #Taliban show of the billions of dollars worth of military equipments, aircrafts and weapons left behind by USA last year.pic.twitter.com/GjzfbeOkLA
— Mohammad Natiq | محمد ناطق (@natiqmalikzada) August 31, 2022
He claimed the “foreigners” carried everything with them as they left Afghanistan and placed sanctions on the country. Of course, all of this has contributed to the country’s current state of poverty and famine.
Since the time they took control, the international community has refused to acknowledge the Taliban as a legitimate government and has also subjected them to sanctions.
This article appeared in NewsHouse and has been published here with permission.
