"NATO's biggest defeat," Stoltenberg said in an interview with the Times newspaper.
At the same time, he added that he ultimately considered the decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan to be correct.
In early August 2021, the Taliban intensified their offensive against Afghan government forces, entered Kabul on August 15, and the next day declared that the war was over. Ashraf Ghani, who was then President of Afghanistan, left the country. On the night of August 31, the US military left the Kabul airport, ending almost 20 years of US military presence in Afghanistan.
A number of politicians in the US called the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan a shameful panic flight. US efforts to form a pro-government militia in northern Afghanistan ended in failure due to the recruitment of bandits and marginalized individuals into these formations, the New York Times previously reported, citing the results of its own investigation in the region.