•Pratt has observed that the media is not being fair with its reportage on the happenings in Afghanistan
•He says the Talibans could not have taken over the country without the acceptance of the population
•Pratt says the Talibans defeated the US
Kwesi Pratt Jnr, the Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper says that decision by the United of States of America to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan was an indication of their acceptance of defeat in the two-decade war with Taliban forces.
Pratt on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme explained that in war, the side that withdraws its personnel from the warfront is the one that is declared as the loser.
Pratt said America should not be given reprieve over its operations in Afghanistan but rather called out for creating a ‘mess’ in Afghanistan.
“Why are there Americans so hastily pulling out of Afghanistan? They are doing so because it has become expensive in (terms of) human life and material for them to be doing that…. that is called defeat. So the reality is that after 20 years of war, the Americans have had to evacuate in a haste because they could not defeat the Taliban.
“After 20 years of their presence and occupation in Afghanistan, the US could not train, the people they went to support in Afghanistan,” Pratt said.
Pratt noted the happenings in Afghanistan should serve as a caution to countries that interventions by other countries in their peculiar local issues hardly yield any long-term benefits.
“I think we are getting into a situation where all of us will have realize the issue of sovereignty is an important one that needs to be respected by all of us within the context of today’s world and its architecture. Look at the interventions which have been made throughout and look at the consequences. Those interventions never achieve objectives” he said.
Pratt also accused the media of biased reportage that does not tell the full story of how a significant chunk of the Afghan population are in favor of the Talibans.
“I think the western media and by extension our local media are not giving us a full picture of what’s going on in Afghanistan. The impression is created that the people of Afghanistan hate the Taliban so much that the decision of the US to withdraw its troop has led to an infamy and that people are desperate to lead the country. That is the picture painted but it’s not the full picture. The Taliban could not have taken the whole Afghanistan with men and women under arms. It’s indication that a huge part of the Afghan population is with the Taliban,” he submitted.
