Taliban Warns US:

Leave Afghanistan or Face Soviet-Style Defeat

TEHRAN (defapress)- The Taliban militant group warned the United States it would face the same fate as the Soviet Union in the 1980s if it did not leave violence-wracked Afghanistan, as Washington considers slashing troop numbers.

News ID: 74620

Date: 28 December 2018 - 18:14

Taliban Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement on the 39th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of the war-torn country on Thursday that US forces face "humiliation" and could "learn a great deal" from the experience of their Cold War foe, Middle East News reported.

"Take heed from the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan and abandon thoughts of testing the mettle of the already proven Afghans," the statement read.

The Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989, ending a decade-long occupation and precipitating a bloody civil war and the emergence of the Taliban and other militant groups.

The Taliban spokesman also added that any future relations between the Taliban and the United States should be based on "sound diplomatic and economic principles" rather than conflict.

The Taliban have previously said the presence of foreign troops is the biggest obstacle to peace in Afghanistan.

US President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered the withdrawal of some 7,000 troops from Afghanistan. The figure accounts for about half of the total number of American boots on the ground in the country.

The Taliban have not formally responded to the partial US troop withdrawal.

The Kabul government has stepped up efforts to convince the Taliban to end the 17-year militancy amid Washington’s failures on the battleground.

The United States invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 after the September 11 attacks and overthrew the Taliban regime. But US forces have remained bogged down there through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and now Trump.

Taliban militants have warned of stepping up their attacks until the US forces fully withdraw from Afghanistan.

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