The former president of Afghanistan issues explanations after fleeing

More than three weeks after fleeing Kabul by helicopter as the Taliban swept through the capital, former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon apologizing to his compatriots.

“I owe the Afghan people an explanation for abruptly leaving Kabul on August 15 after the Taliban unexpectedly entered the city,” Ghani began, in a letter posted on his Twitter account that was written only in English.

Three days after his quick departure and amid apocalyptic panic scenes at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport as desperate Afghans tried to flee the country, Ghani resurfaced in the United Arab Emirates, whose government confirmed that the she had welcomed him and his family for humanitarian reasons.

“I left at the request of the security of the palace, who advised me to continue to risk getting out of the same horrible street fight that the city had suffered during the civil war of the 1990s. Leaving Kabul was the most difficult decision. of my life, but I believed it was the only way to keep guns quiet and save Kabul and its 6 million citizens, ”wrote the former World Bank academic and official, who had been president of the ‘Afghanistan since 2014.

In what some see as an attempt to avoid accountability, Ghani said, “Now is not the time for a lengthy assessment of the events that led to my departure,” and added that “I will address them in a near future “.

Taliban forces had made a series of impressive advances across the country of 39 million following the Biden and NATO administration announcing the full departure of coalition and U.S. forces in late August.

Amid the exodus of foreign troops, the Taliban were able to declare almost complete control of the country within ten days of seizing its first provincial capital. This, despite being overtaken by the Afghan army, which has been aided by U.S. coalition forces for the past 20 years.

Ghani has been accused of engaging in rampant corruption and taking advantage of it. Rumors abounded among Afghans and analysts that the 72-year-old took millions of dollars in cash when he left, and Russian state media reported. Ghani in his letter denied the allegations.

“Now I have to deal with baseless accusations that when I left Kabul, I took millions of dollars from the Afghan people. These charges are completely and categorically false. Corruption is a plague that has paralyzed our country for decades and the fight against it. corruption has been the central focus of my efforts as president. “

Afghan and former U.S. officials, including those who worked closely with Ghani, allege numerous cases of corruption and bribery in Ghani’s office and family, and independent investigations have concluded that Ghani gave lucrative contracts to members of Ghani. the immediate family. Ghani has denied the allegations.

“I accept an official audit or financial investigation under the auspices of the UN or any other appropriate independent body to prove the veracity of my statements here,” Ghani wrote in his September 8 statement.

Analysts and many U.S. war veterans in Afghanistan point out that corruption in the Afghan government and the leadership of its military often meant that money for soldiers ’salaries went to the pockets of senior officials. They told CNBC that the rapid surrenders of the Afghan army to the Taliban came in part from the total lack of confidence that Ghani and the Kabul government would support them.

“I offer my deep appreciation and respect for the sacrifice of all Afghans, especially our Afghan soldiers and their families, over the past forty years,” Ghani wrote in the final paragraph of his letter.

“It is with deep and deep sorrow that my own chapter ended in a tragedy similar to that of my predecessors, without ensuring stability and prosperity. I apologize to the Afghan people who could not make it end differently. “My commitment to the Afghan people has never wavered and will guide me for the rest of my life.”