The last commander of German troops in Afghanistan, four months before the chaotic operation to withdraw foreign troops from the country, warned Berlin that the Western-backed authorities would collapse very quickly.

Major General Ansgar Mayer explained to a parliamentary inquiry in Germany on Thursday that he told then-Foreign Minister Heiko Maas that the chances of stability in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of foreign troops are slim.

In his situation report to Mr. Maas during his visit to Afghanistan in April 2021, Lieutenant General Mayer stressed that the situation is “very critical” and that the Afghan security forces are not strong enough, he confirmed yesterday.

“The Taliban put enormous pressure on the security forces” of the ousted government, he explained.

His assessments were based on the experience of previous months. The Afghan forces are facing serious operational and logistical problems, explained the senior officer now heading the Special Forces Command (KSK) of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces.

In particular, he pointed out that the Afghan air force “intervened in every mission” and used up a large amount of ammunition in a short period of time.

The Bundeswehr withdrew its last troops from Afghanistan in June 2021 earlier than originally planned, in agreement with the United States. This forced thousands of people to leave the country, but many others who had to leave were left behind.

Lieutenant General Mayer told the committee that then-Chancellor Angela Merkel told him personally that she did not want a “new Saigon” to unfold, referring to the chaotic withdrawal of American troops from the capital of the former South Vietnam in the spring of 1975, which ended the war in Vietnam.

According to the officer, the danger to the German army was averted.

“We were able to do it on the military side,” he said. But a few weeks later he was already watching “new Saigon” on TV. “I was upset,” he admitted.

In August 2021, when the Taliban captured Kabul with virtually no resistance, Germany actively participated in the international military operation to evacuate military personnel, diplomats and citizens of foreign countries and Afghanistan.

The Parliamentary Inquiry Committee aims to shed more light on the withdrawal of the German army and the evacuation operation in August 2021. He studies the events after February 29, 2020, when the Doha Agreement was signed.

According to the text, the Taliban pledged to hold peace talks with the then government and join the government of national unity after the withdrawal of US troops and its allies. The agreement remained on paper.

Source: RES-IPE