Military missions cannot last forever. This is the meaning of the announced withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan: after a stay that lasted twenty years, from that fateful October 7, 2001 when the “Enduring Freedom” mission began, with the aim of defeating the Al Qaeda network responsible for the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.
“The start of a new chapter”Said the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, which finally gives the Afghan people a way to “build a sustainable peace”. Business Italians interviewed the ambassador on the subject Francesco Maria Talò, Permanent Representative of Italy to the Atlantic Council.
Ambassador, he has just returned from an important mission in Afghanistan. What atmosphere have you breathed in these days?
“The mission was very intense, on the eve of historic decisions taken in Washington and Brussels. I want to immediately specify how and how much I personally noted the deep appreciation and gratitude for Italy, confirmed in the context of a long series of meetings: from former President Hamid Karzai to the President of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah, the Vice President, the Foreign Minister and other representatives of the Government of Kabul to a courageous group of women who hold significant responsibilities in the country . Well, as for the atmosphere, I can say that in twenty years this territory has changed a lot, transforming it from Afghanistan after September 11th into a possible alternative. Possible and at least partially realized. Of course it is still not enough but the meetings with the women’s representation I mentioned earlier would have been unthinkable in the previous context “.
Does our country have a particular link with Afghanistan?
“Certainly yes, and I like to remember that this year is celebrating the centenary of diplomatic relations between Italy and Afghanistan. Relations between nations must always be placed in a wider context than the merely geographical one and the news: even if distant, both on the world map and in terms of cultural manifestations, our country has always been one of the European countries closest to and cooperating with Afghanistan.
In the years 2011-2012, you were the Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Afghanistan and Pakistan. How has the Allied military presence changed over time?
“Change is a fundamental concept, which marks a transition: a transition that has taken place, and will also take place with the withdrawal of the troops, without however wanting to mark a clean break or a severing of relations. The watchwords are change and continuity. The shape will change, in the sense that there will no longer be a physical presence on the territory, nevertheless the commitment to continue to grow this country, respecting rights and freedom, will not fail. chronology. We started with the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), a NATO mission authorized by the UN, to support the Afghan government in the fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda. In 2011, the NATO military contingent on the territory exceeded 100,000 men , of which over 4,000 Italians. Today, another ten years have passed, the forces involved in the RSM mission (Resolute Support Mission, which began in 2015) have been reduced to less than a tenth, of which about 850 Italian soldiers . What does this mean? It means that over time the Afghan forces have learned to do much more, allowing our NATO contingent to guarantee mission objectives with fewer and fewer men. In these twenty years, a new generation of Afghans has grown up and, with them, an Afghan security force, which did not exist before. The theme of training is another fundamental concept: we have made sure that the Afghan forces could grow in capacity and effectiveness, to finally arrive at the moment – this – in which to assign them the garrison and security of this Nation. A topic on which I have had the opportunity to discuss several times with US General Scott Miller, Commander of the RSM mission, as well as recently in Kabul with the Deputy Commander, our General Nicola Zanelli “.
Given what was announced by both President Biden and NATO, the withdrawal of the troops will take place gradually, starting on May 1st, and ending by September 11th. A symbolic date, a watershed in history, which also represents the reason why it was decided to go to Afghanistan, and to stay there for twenty years …
“That’s right. That tragic Tuesday 11 September 2001 I was in New York. I smelled the acrid smell of burning that pervaded the air, I saw the wounded Twin Towers and then I saw them collapse, I experienced firsthand the evacuation from the building I was in. It was precisely in the spirit of what was perceived as an attack on everyone that, once in the history of NATO, it was decided to invoke Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. basically means “all for one, one for all”: because, it must always be remembered, we went to Afghanistan in order to eradicate terrorism, avoiding the country from turning into a kind of safe haven from which to launch new attacks against West”.
(He follows….)