Former Ambassador John Gunther Dean had described April 12, 1975, as the day when the U.S. "abandoned Cambodia and handed it over to the butcher", there are apprehensions that Afghanistan may be in a similar situation following the US troop pullout from the country.
Writing in Nikkei Asia, Denis D Gray said that the Taliban may not prove as brutal as the ultra-communist Khmer Rouge of Cambodia, but their record during their five years in power (1996-2001) speaks for itself: suppression of women, including selling many into sex slavery, executions, destruction of traditional culture and education, executions and systematic massacres of perceived opponents.
Nearly after two decades, the US along with other foreign forces has decided to completely withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, and many believe that the Taliban is headed for victory in the 20-year conflict.
Bob Mulholland, a Vietnam War combat veteran, and senior Democratic Party member said, "Only an intern in the Pentagon would not know that the Taliban will be the government in control this year or next".
Another expert Michael D Eiland expressed, "Getting out now may be a strategic and political imperative. But I think there is a moral imperative to take care of those who have been with us.''
Eiland further said, "It happens every time. We seduce and abandon. The people we coerce, rent or otherwise draw into our web have a choice, of course, but they really don't. If it's a choice it's a cruel Hobson's choice."
The Taliban have taken control of several districts across the country, US intelligence assessments have suggested the country's civilian government could fall to the terror group within months of US forces withdrawing completely.
( With inputs from ANI )
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