The meeting is bound to renew questions about whether NATO\u2019s most ambitious operation ever was worth it.<\/b>
\nBRUSSELS \u2014 U.S. President Biden and his NATO counterparts will bid a symbolic farewell to Afghanistan on Monday in their last summit before America winds up its longest \u201cforever war\u201d and the U.S. military pulls out for good. The meeting is bound to renew questions about whether NATO\u2019s most ambitious operation ever was worth it. The 18-year effort cost the United States alone $2.26 trillion, and the price in lives includes 2,442 American troops and 1,144 personnel among U.S. allies, according to figures from Brown University. NATO does not keep a record of those who die in its operations. Those casualty figures dwarf Afghan losses, which include more than 47,000 civilians, up to 69,000 members of the national armed forces and police, and over 51,000 opposition fighters. The military effort followed the 2001 arrival of a U.S.-led coalition that ousted the Taliban for harboring al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Few experts argue that it brought long-term stability, meaningful democracy or security. \u201cAt this point, you get the impression that NATO leaders almost want to downplay and leave quietly, rather than making too big a deal of it, and going on to focus on other business,\u201d said Erik Brattberg, director of the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. With the U.S. leading the withdrawal, European allies and Canada want to hear Biden\u2019s thinking about how security will be assured at their embassies, along major transport routes and above all at Kabul\u2019s airport. Many wonder whether the Afghan government can survive a resurgent Taliban. Some think Kabul\u2019s capitulation is only a matter of time. \u201cWe are currently in intense discussions with our member states, the United States, NATO and the United Nations on the absence of essential security conditions for our continued diplomatic presence. It will be difficult to keep it\u201d in place, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. For now, NATO plans to leave civilian advisers to help build up government institutions. It\u2019s unclear who will protect them. The 30-nation alliance is also weighing whether to train Afghan special forces outside the country. As an organization, NATO will not provide sanctuary for Afghans who worked alongside its forces \u2013 routinely risking their lives \u2013 although a few individual members will. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says it\u2019s simply time to leave. \u201cAfghanistan has come a long way, both when it comes to building strong, capable security forces, but also when it comes to social and economic progress,\u201d he told The Associated Press. \u201cAt some stage, it has to be the Afghans that take full responsibility for peace and stability in their own country.\u201d Few Afghans share that assessment of their country, which has a 54 percent poverty rate, runaway crime, rampant corruption and an illicit economy that outstrips the legal economy. When NATO took charge of international security operations in 2003, Afghanistan was its first major mission outside Europe and North America. The aim was to stabilize the government, build up local security forces and remove a potential base for extremist groups. Yet 18 years later, security is at its lowest ebb for most Afghans. The capital is rife with criminal gangs, many linked to powerful warlords, and there are routine attacks by an upstart Islamic State. Quite early into the operations, as combat took its toll on NATO troops, extremists and civilians, a stalemate developed. The Taliban could not be routed from outlying areas, but neither could its fighters seize and hold major cities. Troop surges made little difference, and it soon became clear that NATO\u2019s military training effort was its exit strategy. Only by creating a big army capable of standing on its own feet could the organization wind up its operations. But the Afghan army was plagued by corruption, desertion and low morale. Experts say it still is, and this remains a major concern as NATO insists on funding the nation\u2019s security forces after it\u2019s gone. Donald Trump\u2019s unilateral decision to leave by May 1 stunned U.S. allies. It highlighted NATO\u2019s weakness: European members and Canada simply cannot sustain major operations without logistical support from their biggest partner. Biden\u2019s decision to pull U.S. troops out by the 20th anniversary of the 9\/11 attacks on New York and Washington changed little, although he did consult allies this time. James Dobbins, a former Afghan envoy who now works for the RAND Corporation think tank, predicts the exit will mean the loss of government legitimacy. \u201cThe U.S. departure will be seen as a victory for the Taliban and a defeat for the United States,\u201d he said in an opinion piece. \u201cThe result will be a blow to American credibility, the weakening of deterrence and the value of American reassurance elsewhere.\u201d On Monday, NATO\u2019s leaders will reaffirm the strength of their alliance and go back to what they know best: their old nemesis, Russia. Biden will brief his partners before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was not invited to NATO\u2019s summit. \u201cThere is little appetite left to continue investing in Afghanistan,\u201d Brattberg said. \u201cThere is a sense of being fed up in a lot of NATO countries, and now it\u2019s just time to pack the bags and get out with little consideration about the consequences that could have on the ground.\u201d Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page. Enter your email and password to access comments. Forgot Password? Don’t have a Talk profile? Create one. Invalid username\/password. Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration. Create a commenting profile by providing an email address, password and display name. You will receive an email to complete the registration. Please note the display name will appear on screen when you participate. Already registered? Log in to join the discussion. 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