Western intelligence was in the dark about the state of the Afghan army as it collapsed in the face of the Taliban advance, an inquiry has heard.
Nato forces did not know how much the Afghans relied on American air power and how damaging its withdrawal would be, a German military aide said.
The testimony sheds light on why the US and its allies were caught by surprise when the Taliban swiftly took over the country.
The militants captured a string of provincial cities before entering Kabul on August 15 last year, before Nato powers had finished withdrawing.
Speaking anonymously to a closed-door parliamentary inquiry, the German defence ministry analyst said the army had limited knowledge of what was unfolding in areas conquered by the Taliban.
Although defence chiefs were in regular contact with intelligence services, everyone involved with the operation was surprised by the lightning pace of the Taliban’s advance, the inquiry heard.
By the end of the Nato operation, intelligence was limited to what troops could see with their own eyes while on patrols near their camp, the witness said.
“Collecting information from the various parts of Afghanistan became ever more difficult as Afghan forces steadily retreated,” according to a written summary of their testimony.
“There was initially not enough information on how much Afghan forces relied on the US military to make a suitable assessment of the resilience of the Afghan security forces.”
The aide said Afghan forces lost motivation after the US announced its planned withdrawal in February 2020, under a deal between the Taliban and former president Donald Trump’s administration.
Until then, Afghan forces believed they would continue to have American backing, but the deal signed in Doha was described to the committee as a signal to the Taliban that the government was losing western backing.
President Joe Biden inherited the deal and opted to complete the withdrawal rather than resume fighting when a ceasefire expired, leading to heavy criticism when the US-backed government collapsed.
Mr Biden said Afghan forces had lacked the will to fight for their country. Former German chancellor Angela Merkel said they had not been expected to lay down their arms so quickly.
By August 2021, the Taliban had taken over so many areas of the country that government forces “had no more room for manoeuvre,” the German inquiry was told.
The Taliban had committed under the US deal to negotiate with the Afghan government on a ceasefire and future political road map.
However, by last summer their promises of negotiations “were already no more than a charade”, the German witness said.
The capture of Kabul was followed by a hectic two-week evacuation as Britain, Germany and others scrambled to get their troops, diplomats and Afghan support staff out of the country.
The 12-member German committee is tasked with examining the final phase of the war in Afghanistan and whether Germany could have prepared better for the withdrawal and evacuation.
A separate inquiry will examine the wider sweep of the 20-year mission in Afghanistan. Germany deployed 93,000 troops, of whom 59 died, in its biggest military intervention since the Second World War.
"I strongly believe that we should reflect on what went wrong in Afghanistan," Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told a peace forum in Berlin this week.
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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