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The President of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman, has criticized the United States and NATO, to which his country has belonged since 1999, for their military withdrawal from Afghanistan where, he claims, the Taliban will create a terrorist center from which to carry out attacks around the world.
In an interview with the Parlamentní listy portal, the Czech head of state believes that NATO’s “failure” in the Asian country will undermine the confidence of some of its smaller partners in the Alliance’s ability to respond in the event of a crisis.
Zeman claims that he personally warned both current President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, that pulling troops out of Afghanistan was “cowardice” that would have no positive effect.
The Czech president also claims that the United States has lost its prestige as a world leader by pulling out of Afghanistan and that what happened raises doubts about the legitimacy of NATO’s existence.
In fact, Zeman goes so far as to say that investing in the Alliance is a “waste of money” and that the Czech Republic should focus its spending on national defense.
He also warns that the Taliban’s financing is assured by the opium trade, of which Afghanistan is the main producer, and that the radical Islamist group will create a terrorist center from which to carry out attacks around the world.
