McChrystal fears civil war in Afghanistan

KABUL has warned the war-torn country could slip back into civil war following foreign troops’ pullout if failed to receive support from the West.

 “I don’t think the Taliban have the strength to come in and take over Afghanistan,” General Stanley McChrystal told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on Tuesday, describing the prospect of renewed internal conflict as a “worst-case possibility.”

“Clearly, I think the greatest danger is it would break out into violence, either in direct civil war or maybe multi-party fighting,” the general said, suggesting such a situation could be avoided provided the Afghan government received the backing it needed from its allies.

He said there was enough capacity in Afghanistan and certainly enough ties that bound to avoid the danger of a civil conflict that he thought would be a worst-case possibility.”

 “I think they (Afghans) do need partners as they go forward though, so I hope that a security arrangement is reached where they get some levels of support from people who have been their allies over the last decade and a half,” he said.

General McChrystal also expressed concern about the use of unmanned drones to target leading Taliban figures.

While he acknowledged that they could be a highly effective weapon, he said it was important to consider their impact on the local population.

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