Reports Say US-Educated Afghan Commandos Are Vulnerable To Exploitation By Iran, China And Russia

Afghanistan commando illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David Quillen/US armed forces))

JAKARTA - Former Afghan security personnel with sensitive knowledge of US operations, who were 'left behind' during last year's massive evacuation, are vulnerable to recruitment or coercion by Russia, China, and Iran, Republican lawmakers say, accusing President Joe's administration of Biden failed to prioritize them.

"This is in light of reports that some former Afghan military personnel have fled to Iran," said the Republican representative on the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, in a report marking the anniversary of the Taliban's takeover of Kabul.

President Biden's administration, the report said, failed to prioritize the evacuation of US-trained Afghan commandos and other elite units, in the chaotic US troop withdrawal and evacuation operation August 14-30 2021 at Kabul's international airport.

Thirteen US troops died, while hundreds of Americans and tens of thousands of Afghans were at risk of being left behind during the operation.

The government called the operation a "tremendous success" that flew more than 124,000 Americans and Afghans to safety, ending an "endless" war that left some 3,500 US and allied troops, as well as hundreds of thousands of Afghans, dead.

However, hundreds of US-trained commandos and other former security personnel and their families remain in Afghanistan amid reports the Taliban have killed and tortured former Afghan officials, allegations the militants deny.

The former personnel "could be recruited or forced to work for any of America's adversaries who maintain a presence in Afghanistan, including Russia, China, or Iran," the council member said in the report.

He called the possibility a major national security risk, because the Afghans were familiar with the tactics, techniques and procedures of the US military and intelligence community.

Several US officials and experts say President Biden has attempted to exit Afghanistan without properly assessing the lessons of the war, without accountability for the chaotic evacuation.

The report combines new details of the extraction operation with congressional testimony and military and news reports, to show how the administration is ignoring the advice of US commanders, failing to plan adequately and ignoring Taliban violations of the 2020 withdrawal deal.

In another finding, it said the government waited hours before the Taliban took Kabul to make an important evacuation decision.

It also called on other countries to host transit hubs for the thousands of Afghan refugees who worked for the US government during Washington's 20 years of intervention, as well as others who face the risk of Taliban retaliation.

"Very little was done to prepare for the takeover of the country by the Taliban or for evacuation," he said.