Michael George Vickers, the former US Assistant Secretary of Defence, told the commission investigating the US war in Afghanistan that Pakistan cooperated in the fight against al-Qaeda but played a double game when it came to destroying Taliban safe havens.
He emphasised that the Pakistanis played a double game in the fight against the Taliban; part ally and part hidden enemy.
He testified on Friday, July 19, at the first meeting of the commission investigating the US war in Afghanistan.
He stated that the US successfully defeated al-Qaeda and its safe havens in Pakistan with the help of the Pakistani military, but lost the war to the Taliban.
According to him, the main reason for this loss was the US' failure to eliminate Taliban safe havens in Pakistan.
Vickers explained that while the Pakistani military leadership supported the US in destroying al-Qaeda, they viewed the Taliban as a strategic tool to establish a government in Afghanistan that would serve Pakistan's interests.
Vickers also criticised the US counterterrorism strategy in Afghanistan, stating that it was flawed.
He said that the US failed to focus on its primary goal of combating terrorism while trying to build a nation in Afghanistan. He acknowledged that the US acted too late in creating a reliable and effective security force and subsequently wasted significant funds on building "wrong" security forces.
Vickers stated that the US transferred security responsibilities to the Afghan government too late.
In another part of his testimony, Vickers claimed that both Trump and Biden preferred failure over supporting the Afghan government.
According to Vickers, the Afghanistan war was a long conflict that needed to continue with support for the Afghan government.
He added that in the short term, it would have been impossible to win with 150,000 troops alone, but with a few thousand military advisors, support for the Afghan government, and continued air strikes to prevent the Taliban from growing and capturing cities, failure could have been avoided. Instead, he said, they chose to accept failure.
The first meeting of the commission investigating the US war in Afghanistan took place on Friday, July 19, at the US Veterans Administration in Washington.
The meeting was attended by several diplomats, former US and Afghan officials, and researchers, including Nader Nadery and Halima Kazem from Afghanistan.
The commission, comprising 16 commissioners, emphasised that it will engage with all those involved in the Afghanistan war to provide a comprehensive overview and recommendations for future US policy and strategies.
Established by the US Congress in December 2021, the commission is tasked with conducting a thorough review of key US decisions in various areas, including the military, intelligence, foreign aid, and diplomatic involvement in Afghanistan from June 2001 to August 2021.
