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Afghanistan: The country is falling into chaos during the US troop withdrawal

Afghanistan: The country is falling into chaos during the US troop withdrawal

After the withdrawal of the German troops, the Taliban suddenly returned. Their bloody advance keeps the country in suspense and costs human lives. But the US is sticking to its withdrawal plans.

Mission accomplished somehow. That is the view of the US government. The goal – that was the smashing of the Al-Qaeda terror network in Afghanistan, says the spokesman for the US Department of Defense, John Kirby. And the end of the terrorist threat that the country posed for the United States. And now you follow the announcement of the president – and that is the withdrawal of troops. These sentences have been repeated like mantras in the USA for weeks.

The fact that Afghanistan threatens to sink into chaos does nothing to change that. The Taliban quickly conquered one city after another – civilians were killed in the fighting. All of this happens around three weeks before the US wants to have withdrawn its troops from the country – the combat mission should be over. Can US President Joe Biden just stick to his plans despite the dramatic developments? Yes, says Spokesman Kirby. It is their fight, he says addressed to the Afghans. But one thing is also certain: it is Biden’s foreign policy legacy.

20 Years of Afghanistan: America’s Longest War

The USA was in Afghanistan for around 20 years. The attacks of September 11, 2001, for which Al-Qaeda was blamed, triggered the entry of US-led troops into Afghanistan. The military operation led to the overthrow of the Taliban regime within a few weeks. “We’re ending America’s longest war,” Biden said in a speech in July, defending his withdrawal plans. A promise that Biden made to his compatriots. A promise that it is now difficult for him to break.

And Biden makes no move to do so either. Because the message of the withdrawal is primarily addressed to the Americans. The focus is not on the future of Afghanistan. “We went to Afghanistan because of a terrible attack that occurred 20 years ago. That cannot explain why we should stay there in 2021,” Biden said in April. One owes the debt of the Americans who are in the service of the military. It is time for the 2500 men and women to come home.

Criticism of the American troop withdrawal

There have been repeated criticism of Biden’s withdrawal plans – most recently from ex-President George W. Bush. He had ordered the invasion of Afghanistan. The USA definitely wanted to stabilize the country, build democracy and bring peace. Critics of the trigger admit that this is probably utopian. But the question arises as to whether maintaining the status quo would not have been better than the bloody advance of the Taliban. For Biden, he said himself in April, the status quo was not an option.

The US never tires of stressing that the Afghan armed forces are able to defend the country. “So far, the government’s eat-or-die strategy has not shown any promising results,” said the New York Times recently. The only thing one can hope for now is a kind of stalemate between the Afghan armed forces and the Taliban fighters, said ex-Defense Minister Leon Panetta on US television. That would require military strength. A takeover by the Taliban would pose a real threat to the US – Afghanistan would become a “safe haven” for terrorists. If the Afghan capital Kabul falls, it will be over.

A diplomatic agreement with the Taliban?

The US government repeatedly emphasizes that the Taliban are also interested in a “permanent solution” that could be achieved through diplomacy. For these statements, the State Department spokesman, Ned Price, had to pocket last. “Ned, I hate to say that, but it borders on intellectual dishonesty,” accused a journalist. “There is no evidence that the Taliban are seeking a just and lasting solution. None.”

For this reason, the USA is currently not relying primarily on diplomacy – but on air strikes, for example. You have been flying air strikes against Taliban positions on a regular basis for weeks. Since the US troops have meanwhile as good as withdrawn, the planes rise outside of Afghanistan – about far away from an aircraft carrier stationed in the region. Will the US continue to fly air strikes after the August 31 withdrawal? That is not completely ruled out. So far, the Americans do not want to determine correctly.

Does the US risk a violent takeover of power by the Taliban?

A bogeyman for the US is a possible takeover of power by the Taliban in Kabul – and consequently evacuations of the US embassy and other Western embassies, according to the New York Times. For a more formative memory is the former Saigon in 1975. At that time the war against North Vietnam was lost – images of a chaotic rescue of the embassy staff went around the world.

A violent takeover of power by the Taliban – it would be a disaster. And not only for the USA for a long time. Especially for the battered country itself. This would probably mean the end of the young democracy in Afghanistan. In addition, there are likely to be setbacks in women’s rights and freedom of expression and media, and the country could once again become a haven for international terrorists.

The latter in particular would be the worst-case scenario not only for the USA, but also for NATO, as it began its operation in the Hindu Kush almost two decades ago to put an end to the international terrorism emanating from Afghanistan. For the first and so far only time in the history of NATO, the alliance case was declared after the attacks of September 11th. This led to Germany and numerous other NATO countries participating in the war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. The American armed forces alone lost more than 2,300 soldiers in the Hindu Kush. The Bundeswehr complained about 59 victims.

Most policymakers knew that what is happening now could happen. In the end, regardless of all warnings, Biden decided to pull the trigger and thus also ended the NATO mission. Since the end of its military operation, NATO can only appeal to the Taliban and hope that it may not end quite as badly as many are currently feared.

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