WASHINGTON, 19 July 2021, (TON): One of America’s former military commanders in Afghanistan said Sunday that the situation there is falling apart even before the United States completes its withdrawal from the embattled Asian nation.

Speaking on “Fareed Zakaria GPS” Gen. David Petraeus said “the situation on the ground has become increasingly dire with each passing week.”

Earlier this year, President Joe Biden announced that U.S. troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan, and he recently moved up the date of the final departure.

“I fear we will look back and regret the decision to withdraw,” Petraeus said. “Sadly, we may regret that sooner than I had originally thought when I said that right after the decision was announced.”

Petraeus, who retired from the Army to become director of the CIA in 2011, added “beyond that, I think we will also look back and regret the hasty way in which we seem to be doing this.”

American, British and other international forces invaded Afghanistan late in 2001 in response to the 9/11 attacks and rapidly ousted the Taliban regime that had supported Osama bin Laden and provided him refuge. Bin Laden fled to neighboring Pakistan and was assassinated there by U.S. forces in 2011.