Taliban likens US role in Afghanistan to Vietnam War

In this Aug. 27, 2012 photo provided by the U.S. Army, U.S. soldiers from the 4th Brigade, 82nd Airborne arrive to turn in their vehicles and equipment as part of the drawdown at the Kandahar Air Field south of Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan – The Taliban Wednesday likened the planned withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan to America's pullout from Vietnam, calling it a "declare victory and run" strategy, according to the Associated Press.

A statement from the militant group said the ongoing transfer of security operations from U.S. troops to Afghan forces was merely a retreat similar to the American withdrawal from South Vietnam prior to the communist victory there in 1975.

The Associated Press reports American-led NATO troops are scheduled to pull out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, although the U.S. will leave a residual force behind and other NATO countries have pledged continuing support of the Kabul government.

"They want to flee from Afghanistan just as they turned tail and ran from Vietnam," the Taliban statement said. "When America faced utter destruction in Vietnam, they came up with the formula `declare victory and run' and want to utilize the formula of `transfer security and run' here in Afghanistan."

Meanwhile, one of Afghanistan's most feared warlords voiced fierce criticism of Britain's role in the region, and launched specific insults at British royal Prince Harry, who is serving his second tour in the region.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Telegraph, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who has been designated a global terrorist by the U.S., said that "the British prince comes to Afghanistan to kill innocent Afghans while he is drunk. He wants to hunt down Mujaheddin with his helicopter rockets without any shame.

"But he does not understand this simple fact that hunting of Afghan lions and eagles is not that easy," Hekmatyar continued. "Jackals cannot hunt lions."

The warlord also reportedly vowed to kill as many troops as possible before the UK's withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from The Telegraph.