For better or worse, the US has all the means to justify its actions, but it still chose to abandon the Afghan people and leave the entire country back to where it began.
You cannot just invade a country and leave it struggling.
United States President Joe Biden said he does not regret his decision to end the war in Afghanistan, saying America has achieved its goal and its time for the Afghan people to decide for themselves.
“It’s up to the people of Afghanistan to decide what government they want, not to impose the government upon them,” Biden emphasized.
He added that he has high confidence to its local leaders and military to defend the country against the growing Taliban force.
“I do not trust the Taliban but I trust the capacity of the Afghan military,” he remarked.
But with the rebel group making gains in the past days and government troops incurring major losses and heavy casualties, the situation is manifesting the contrary, which begs the question: is America’s decision to leave Afghanistan the right thing to do?
Mission accomplished?
Twenty years ago, the US invaded Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 attacks, deposing the then ruling Taliban government which provided safe haven for infamous terrorist Osama Bin Laden and its al-Qaeda group.
In two months, the US-led coalition force was able to take control of the capital Kabul and other major cities, however, they failed to quash the ensuing Taliban rebellion, making the war the longest in American history.
During the process, the US installed and backed a pro-liberal and democratic Afghanistan, introduced education, women rights, and other civil liberties for the Afghan people that they were not able to enjoy under the ultraconservative Islamic Taliban regime.
But, Biden announced earlier this year that he is ending the war and pledged to withdraw all US troops from the country by the end of August, which other allied countries followed suit.
“The mission is accomplished in that we got Osama bin Laden and that terrorism is not emanating from that part of the world,” said Biden, defending his decision.
“We did not go into Afghanistan to nation-build,” he added.
It is not up to the Afghan people—not yet
America’s invasion and subjugation of Afghanistan has tattered its political, economic, and social development, leaving its people in a state of limbo during all those years. This is the political failure of US and its allies.
From what it seems, the decision to leave Afghanistan benefits only Washington’s agenda and is inconsiderate and downright insensitive to the struggles of the Afghan people and their newly founded ideals.
Nation-building may not be America’s responsibility but they can do much more in terms of guaranteeing the Afghan people and its democratically elected leaders a conducive environment to govern themselves—free from harm and oppression.
It is the only favor they could give the Afghan people with years of conflict and destabilization.
Hence, a free Afghanistan is America’s moral obligation and it has failed on this aspect.
Day by day, the Taliban is inching closer to its goal of redeeming its once power over the country, and their rapid advancement means continued more defeat for the Afghan government, suggesting that Biden’s high optimism is misplaced.
Even the US’ own intelligence community indicate that Kabul has only 90 days left before it is completely overrun by the Taliban.
When Biden was asked if the US will bear responsibility for Afghan lives lost once withdrawal is completed, he answered, “No. No, no, no”. But he should be.
In fact, blood is on their hands since it is evident that the Afghan people is not yet ready to tend to themselves despite Washington’s promise of other means of support like air strikes, finances, and logistics in fighting the militants.
Under a different circumstance, giving Afghans their autonomy is only right, but with the current situation, the withdrawal is not doing its people any good.
Strategic mistake
Analysts, allied countries, and other notable individuals are already calling Biden’s policy as a mistake, suggesting that his actions poses serious geopolitical implications once the Taliban returns to power.
"The withdrawal now is a strategic mistake. I don't believe it's in our own interest," said retired Gen. Richard Barrons, former head of the UK Joint Forces Command.
He argued the move "sold the future of Afghanistan into a very difficult place" and sends a "really unfortunate message" to allies in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
"We will run the risk of terrorist entities re-establishing in Afghanistan, to bring harm in Europe and elsewhere," he added. "I think this is a very poor strategic outcome."
Others like German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and its British counterpart Minister Ben Wallace traced back the current crisis to a deal made by former US President Donald Trump with the rebel group in 2020, which was pushed through by his successor Biden.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, also blamed the US on why peace and stability is deteriorating in country, saying “the decision [for the withdrawal] was taken abruptly,” adding he had warned Washington that their action has “consequences”.
"Unless we wake up to the reality of what is taking place, Afghanistan might once again become a terror state. This, remember, is the country that brought us 9/11," said British MP Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the House of Commons Defense Committee.
A choice
On Tuesday, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki reiterated the defense made by Biden on Afghanistan and underscored that the president had to make “difficult choices” on behalf of the American people.
“We went to Afghanistan to deliver justice to those who attacked us on September 11th, to disrupt terrorists seeking to use Afghanistan as a safe haven to attack the United States,” she said. “We achieved those objectives some years ago.”
As it seems, it all boils down to a choice. For better or worse, the US has all the means to justify its actions, but it still chose to abandon the Afghan people and leave the entire country back to where it began.
Tags: #commentary, #UnitedStates, #Afghanistan, #civilwar