Army Gen. Scott Miller, the nation’s top commander in Afghanistan, said Sunday he hopes we don’t “turn our backs” on Afghanistan as troops are withdrawn.
In an interview on ABC News’ “This Week,” Miller argued the United States still has “leverage” to help protecting women against a repressive government and society.
“I would like us not to turn our backs on this,” Miller said. “There are tremendous lessons… they're not all positive.”
“Good organizations really learn from things that didn't go as well as they wanted. In honest self-reflection, that's going to be important going forward,” he said.
“Afghanistan 2021 is not Afghanistan 1996. Kabul is a different place,” he added. “Think about this, two thirds of the country is 25 and under. They don't remember the Taliban. The question is how do you protect the gains made by young people who fought every single day for a brighter future?”
According to Miller, the United States has “leverage” in Afghanistan, even as it pulls troops.
“There has to be a push,” he said. “There has to be a push for a conversation that includes the discussion of what happens with women. The aid going forward in the future has to have relevance to that. Herat University is 51% female. You have this whole generation that looks different.”
Miller said the United States should be “concerned” about Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan as U.S. troops go home.
“The loss of terrain has to be concerning,” he said. “It's a war that's physical, but it's also got a psychological component to it. Hope matters. Moral matters. As you watch the Taliban move across the country, what you don't want to happen is the people lose help and they believe they have a foregone conclusion presented to them.”
He called the security situation in the void left by U.S. troops “not good.”
“The Afghans recognize it's not good,” he said. “The Taliban are on the move. We're starting to create conditions here that won't look good for Afghanistan in the future if there's a push for a military takeover.”
Related Stories:
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.