George W. Bush during an interview for German International Broadcaster "Deutsche Welle'

During an interview for a German broadcaster on Wednesday, former US President George W. Bush criticized NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and expressed his fear that it is a "mistake" that will cause unspeakable harm to Afghan women and girls.

The former US President who has issued the order to send US forces to Afghanistan in the Autumn of 2001, following the 9/11 attacks, said, "I'm afraid Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm."

When asked whether he thinks the withdrawal is a "mistake", Bush answered, "Yes, because I think the consequences are going to be unbelievably bad."

"They're just going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people, and it breaks my heart," Bush said referring to Afghan women and the people who supported foreign troops in Afghanistan.

The German International Broadcaster "Deutsche Welle" interviewed Bush following the German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Washington. The Chancellor is scheduled to meet with the Democratic US President Joe Biden in the White House on Thursday.

The Commander of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General Austin Scott Miller stepped down on Monday, during a transfer of authority ceremony declaring the almost final withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, while the "Taliban" Movement continues to expand their control.

This step is the start of the final phase of withdrawal from Afghanistan by the US, which is supposed to be finalized by August 31.

About 2,500 US soldiers along with 7,000 military forces from other countries deployed to Afghanistan began their withdrawal in May.

This withdrawal is said to end 20 years of military intervention by the US-led NATO Coalition that entered Afghanistan in October 2001 following the 9/11 attacks on the US in the same year.

It’s noteworthy to mention that the US and the "Taliban" signed a historic agreement on February 2020 in Doha that called for the withdrawal of foreign forces in exchange for security guarantees and for initiating negotiations with the Afghan Government, but the negotiations are currently in a state of stagnation.