The US government seems in a dither about whether to prioritise terrorism as the main target after President Donald Trump’s unequivocal tweet. It has been said that the tweet should not be taken as a policy statement. As if to take advantage of such contradictions, the Taliban has struck in the heart of President Abdul Ghani’s seat of power Kabul itself. In the past the Taliban had attacked both the US and the Indian embassies in the Afghan capital. A couple of days ago the Taliban launched an attack on the intercontinental hotel in Kabul. Eighteen people were killed including 14 foreigners. The security forces were embattled for more than 13 hours. Some of the survivors have narrated how they were caught unawares in their hotel rooms as smoke billowed all around. Interior ministry spokesmen Najib Danish said that 11 out of the 14 foreigners killed were employees of KamAir, a private Afghan airline. One of them was an Ukranian. Afghan officials have so far remained reticent about the identity of the foreigners killed. Six security force personnel were also among the casualties.
A Taliban spokesman made it clear that it was a well planned assault. Six years ago Taliban militants had launched a similar attack on the property. Danish has indicated that a person or persons inside the hotel helped the attackers get inside. Captain Tom Crestback, a spokesman for NATO led forces, said that Afghan forces were conducting the response effort. All this shows that the phased US and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan is strengthening the hands of the Taliban and Haqqani terror groups that have a distinct presence even in Kabul. The Afghan forces are unable to cope with the menace. President Trump’s tweet had better be more circumspect.