‘NATO, villain in Afghanistan scenario’

An Iranian lawmaker says NATO is the villain in America’s scenario for Afghanistan and its presence fans the flames of unrest in the war-torn country.

“NATO in Afghanistan plays the part of the villain in the American scenario and has lost all face due to its violent behavior; as a result, the people of this country eagerly anticipate the withdrawal of foreign forces,” Abbas-Ali Mansouri Arani said Friday.

He went on to say that the Western forces have no cultural commonality with the Muslim people of Afghanistan.

“The main problem created in this country is the tensions stemming from the cultural differences between Afghans and Western forces…. This has caused people (Afghans) to look at Western forces like occupiers seeking to destroy their Islamic culture,” added the lawmaker.

Mansouri Arani stated that reports about the killing of Afghan children by NATO forces prove that the presence of foreign troops has not provided security in Afghanistan and has only spread unrest and violence in the country.

“Western military forces, which have occupied Afghanistan since 2001…under the pretext of fighting al-Qaeda and terrorism, have remained in this country despite their previous claims that they would withdraw from Afghanistan after the establishment of the government and the national army,” he pointed out.

The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 under the pretext of fighting terrorism. The invasion removed the Taliban from power, but the country remains insecure despite the presence of tens of thousands of US-led forces there.

The record-high number of civilian and military casualties in the US-led war in Afghanistan has put a great deal of pressure on NATO member states to withdraw their troops from the Asian country.