NATO Chief Says Afghan Leaders Responsible for Military Collapse
Published Date: 8/17/2021
Source: Bloomberg Quicktake: Now
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday he was "deeply saddened" by the events unfolding in Afghanistan which has seen the Taliban take control of most of the country. The Taliban declared an “amnesty” across Afghanistan on Tuesday and urged women to join their government, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate crowds tried to flee the country. Following a blitz across Afghanistan that saw many cities fall to the insurgents without a fight, the Taliban have sought to portray themselves as more moderate than when they imposed a brutal rule in the late 1990s. Stoltenberg said he was "surprised" at the speed of the country's collapse and acknowledged lessons needed to be learned by the alliance. "The main focus today is to get people out of Afghanistan," he said as he also called for a "peaceful transfer of power". He added international terrorism "remained a challenge" and that NATO needed to "stay at the forefront of the fight". His remarks came after he chaired a meeting Tuesday of NATO envoys to discuss the security implications of the Taliban's sweeping victory in Afghanistan in recent weeks. NATO has been leading international security efforts in Afghanistan since 2003 but wound-up combat operations in 2014 to focus on training the national security forces. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Subscribe to our newest channel Quicktake Explained: https://bit.ly/3iERrup Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake