US Defense Secretary: "No Disorderly or Hasty Withdrawal from Afghanistan"

NATO Responds to Pressure to Increase Troops in Iraq to 4,000
Taliban Backlash and Public Opposition Feared... War Expenses Total 213 Trillion So Far

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reassured NATO member countries by stating at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Defense Ministers Meeting that the U.S. will not conduct a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan. This statement is interpreted as part of the Biden administration's policy to restore the Atlantic alliance. However, concerns remain over the backlash from the Afghan warlord Taliban, who had been promised withdrawal by the previous Trump administration, and the strong domestic public opinion in the U.S. demanding withdrawal due to the enormous war expenses incurred so far, making the implementation of the withdrawal challenging.

According to foreign media including the Associated Press on the 18th (local time), at the NATO Defense Ministers Meeting, Austin stated, "The U.S. will not withdraw from Afghanistan in a disorderly or hasty manner," adding, "All parties are currently conducting a thorough review of the conditions of the agreement signed between the U.S. and the Taliban to determine if withdrawal is feasible, and we will keep our promise to consult with our allies during this process." NATO member countries collectively welcomed Austin's remarks.

This is interpreted as NATO's continued opposition to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, putting pressure on the Biden administration. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pressured the Biden administration again before the meeting by stating, "The NATO troops stationed in Iraq will be increased from the current 500 to 4,000." At the post-meeting press conference, he said, "The issue of withdrawal from Afghanistan has not yet been fully concluded, and consultations will continue." He emphasized, "If we extend the deployment beyond the U.S. military's May 1 withdrawal deadline, we must be prepared for more violence and attacks. However, if we leave, we must also be prepared to lose what we have gained."

However, there are significant concerns about the backlash from the Taliban, who signed the withdrawal agreement with the previous Trump administration, as well as strong domestic public opinion in the U.S. favoring withdrawal. According to CNBC, the U.S. Department of Defense's tally shows that $193 billion (approximately 213.6 trillion KRW) was spent on war expenses from the start of the Afghanistan war in 2001 until last year. When combined with war expenses in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and the entire Middle East following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the total exceeds $1.5 trillion. As a result, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and economic difficulties, public opinion in the U.S. strongly favors withdrawal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.