The Afghan ambassador to the United States — who remains in America and is still technically the country’s representation in the U.S. — recently discussed the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the ramifications that could come from it.
In clips of the interview which Axios shared on Twitter, Afghan Ambassador Adela Raz said she didn’t trust the United States.
.@jonathanvswan to Afghan Ambassador Adela Raz: Do you still trust the United States?
Raz: No. Sorry.
Swan: Do you think Afghans will ever trust an American president again?
Raz: Not soon probably. I'm sorry to say that. #AxiosOnHBO pic.twitter.com/8rRnUmnYW1
— Axios (@axios) October 3, 2021
“Do you still believe in the United States? Do you still trust the United States?” reporter Jonathan Swan asked.
“No. Sorry…I trust and believe the people. I mean, I’ve lost some trust in the U.S. policies and I think probably government policies including my own leadership and government policies.”
She added, “And I’m reflecting and saying how effective I was, or I wasn’t, and I think it is a big question that I don’t have the right type of answer.”
“Do you still think of America as the leader of the free world?” Swan asked.
“If you talk about democracy, I probably will question it and laugh at it because …” she said.
Swan pressed, “Why do you say that?”
“Because you were engaged in building one,” she said. “In Afghanistan. And the people believed in it. They fought for it, but when the negotiations [sic] survived with Taliban, that was not the priority to be negotiated.”
“Do you think Afghans will ever trust an American president again?” Swan asked.
“Not soon probably,” she said. “I’m sorry to say that. I don’t think so.”
As Axios reported:
She criticized Biden’s refusal to renegotiate former President Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban — a deal that had no protections for Afghan women after the U.S. withdrew.
But she also told Axios in a separate phone interview she fully trusts the American people and is profoundly grateful for the sacrifices that U.S. military and civilians made over the past 20 years in her country. She said she’s devastated those gains were not protected.
Raz said that the Biden administration has refused to meet with her, although the Taliban has tried to get in touch with her.
The Biden administration’s catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan led to the Taliban takeover of the country and resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and over a hundred Afghans. It also left behind 100 to 200 Americans in the country.
Earlier this week, a Qatari evacuation flight with Americans took off from Afghanistan, as confirmed to ABC News.
“The State of Qatar is pleased to have worked with a number of parties on the ground as well as its international partners to make this flight possible,” a senior Qatari government official told ABC News in a statement.
“Upon arriving to Qatar, the passengers will be transported to the compound facility currently hosting Afghan civilians and other evacuees,” the official said. “There, they will be able to take a COVID-19 test, rest and remain in Doha until departing to their final destinations.”
The outlet stated, “The government said the flight carried 235 passengers, which is the second-largest Qatari passenger evacuation flight since the Aug. 31 deadline,” adding that most of the people on the aircraft were Afghan citizens, “while there were also citizens from several other countries, the official said. The number of Americans on board the flight is not yet known.”