Two weeks before the US pulled out its troop after a two-decade conflict, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. Militants raged and captured all major cities throughout the country within days when Afghan security services were trained and fitted out with the USA and its allies. In 2001, the US-led invasion of Afghanistan expelled the militants but never left. In recent days, the Western administration which has been running the country for 20 years, crumbled when it shone over the country. Afghans ran to the airport, one of the final tracks outside the nation, dreaded the future.
The Taliban, formed in 1994, included former Afghan resistance warriors, commonly referred to as the Mujahideen, who fought in the 1980s against the invading Soviet forces. They sought to impose their version of Islamic law and eradicate any Western influence. The Sunni Islamist group has introduced tight regulations since the Taliban took Kabul in 1996. The Taliban have carried out a riot against the Allies and the US-supported Afghan government for two decades since they were expelled from power.
Over the past several days, numerous drawings of an Air America chopper rescued Vietnamese refugees on the roof of a building in 1975 in Saigon. They terrorized Afghans who climbed up an aircraft in the U.S. Air Force, which departed from the Kabul tarmac on August 16. These similarities nurture the increasing impression of the United States as a force that participates in carefree invasions only until the consequences of humans, money and politics are too great to be borne by the American public.
The US and NATO had realized their inability to take measures for stopping the Taliban and other organizations from building a sanctuary for terrorists early on and stayed in Afghanistan longer. Recently, the Taliban have not promised to harbor terrorists that may be menacing the US, but the militant organization will fulfil these pledges without any assurances.
In a couple of days after its retirement, the National Government of the US and the military of Afghanistan collapsed has invested US $2 trillion over two decades. Now, following its failure in Afghanistan, many observers declare the end of American efforts at nation-building. However, state-building as a Western goal has been dead for a long time. It was obvious from the Arab revolts in Libya and Syria in 2011. Political leaders in the Middle East and South Asia neighboring countries closely monitor what is going on in Kabul and draw their judgments on the nature and future foreign policy of the U.S. influence in the area.
Only last month, high officials in the administration of Biden thought it may take months for the civilian government to fall in Kabul. Now legislators demand the Biden administration to provide answers and to ask for information on what US intelligence might have done on the ground. Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, the Republican leader in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the situation an unmixed epic disaster. Senate Chief of Minority Mitch McConnell said, "Everyone saw that coming except the President, who rejected these threats publicly and confidently only a few weeks ago."
President Ashraf Ghani stumbled and made a little public remark as the Taliban stormed over the country. On Sunday, he fled Afghanistan and said he opted to avoid additional violence when they arrived in the city. His whereabouts are unknown.
U.S. President Joe Biden did not move outside the Washington political framework to withdraw from Afghanistan. The government, which sought an increase in the number of U.S. soldiers to conclude work. Those who were anxious to end the war and to stop human and material losses had a recurring argument since Barack Obama's presidency.
President Donald Trump has chosen to speak with the Taliban. By talking directly with its leadership and fully setting aside the Afghan Government, he granted the army political status. Today, Biden promised the orderly withdrawal to a mess that would stain both the legacy and image of him outside the US for a long time.
The events in Afghanistan also added to the anxiety of US allies in Lebanon and Iraq for what would happen to them when the Iran nuclear agreement was extended by Washington and Tehran. Such an agreement may help ease U.S. pressure on Iran, which would strengthen Tehran's friends in Iraq and Lebanon's already strong influence.
Confidence in the U.S. government already began to disintegrate in December 2018, when Trump ordered that American soldier be withdrawn from Syria. While US operations cost less in Syria and Iraq than in Afghanistan, and the Kurdish forces have been trained to fight an insurgency, compared to the Afghan Security Forces, they remain unsure of their future.
US partners have watched its decision making in Afghanistan in the Middle East with discomfort. Cold feet are most likely in Kurdish troops in Iraq and Syria in Baghdad, in the central administration. They doubtless mistrust the commitment of the United States to help them in the future.
The abrupt departure of the United States from Afghanistan strengthens the view among US allies in the area that the US is not a trustworthy partner, that Washington is prepared to negotiate with the enemy if it benefits its purposes and that the US foreign policy remains unexpected.
The US departure from Afghanistan will probably boost the geopolitical struggles in the Middle East. In Afghanistan, China, Russia, Turquie and Iran are already trying to fill the vacuum of the US, and are ready to formally establish ties with the Taliban in Kabul. The administration of Biden needs Russian and Chinese assistance if the UN Security Council and diplomacy are required to restrain the Taliban. The US has once again demonstrated its vulnerabilities.
Cartoon By: Al-Arabi
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