US President Biden carries out his policy in Afghanistan – no matter what the Europeans say. At the moment, he does not let the self-set deadline for withdrawal be shaken. The evacuations should end soon.
When he decided to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden ignored the concerns of allies such as Germany and Great Britain. Even with their push for an extension of the evacuation mission, the Europeans now flashed off at Biden. At the crisis switch of the G7 countries on Tuesday, he was not persuaded to extend the deployment of US soldiers at Kabul airport beyond the one week deadline that he himself set. This would mean that thousands of Afghans would lose hope of getting to safety. The clock is ticking – because the evacuation flights are likely to end before the deadline.
“It is now inevitable that some Americans and some of our allies will be left behind,” former US Colonel Peter Mansoor told CNN on Tuesday. “There’s no way we can get them all out by the end of the month.” The ex-officer expected evacuation flights for “three or four days”. The armed forces would spend the remaining days transporting equipment and withdrawing from the airport on their own. CNN also reported that the armed forces expected the withdrawal to begin by the end of this week.
Biden is sticking to the trigger for August 31st
If western states want to bring their nationals or Afghan local workers to safety afterwards, they will have to rely on the accommodating forces of the new rulers in Kabul. Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer spoke on Tuesday in favor of an evacuation agreement with the Taliban for the time after the current Bundeswehr mission. And Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized that there were “very intensive” talks about the civilian continued operation of the airport, so that evacuations are also possible after the military operation. “Of course, the Taliban’s ideas play a role because they control Kabul.”
Even if the Islamists entered into an agreement on evacuations, it is questionable whether they would stick to it. The United Nations reported on Tuesday mass executions of civilians and relatives of pro-government security forces after the Taliban came to power – who had promised their opponents an amnesty.
Biden was due to explain his decision in a speech on Tuesday. The appearance was postponed again and again for hours. Finally, the White House sent a notice stating that Biden was sticking to the August 31st withdrawal date – at least for the time being, because the President is leaving a back door open: According to the White House, he asked the Defense and State Department for contingency plans, ” to adjust the schedule if necessary “.
Even before the G7 summit, Biden had made it clear that the danger for soldiers and civilians at the airport was growing every day the longer the mission lasted. The warnings of an attack by the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) are exceptionally concrete. Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN on Sunday: “The threat is real, it is acute, it is ongoing.” In addition to warnings from the Americans, the Bundeswehr has its own knowledge that potential IS suicide bombers are “infiltrating the city,” as Inspector General Eberhard Zorn said in Berlin on Tuesday. “It’s increasing now.”
Confidence of the allies has been shaken
Biden must now be accused of having given in to the Taliban one more time: They called the withdrawal period of August 31 a “red line” and warned of the consequences. However, it is hard to imagine that the Taliban would have wanted to start another armed conflict with the Americans as a result. The Islamists won the war – after 20 years it would hardly have been a few more days. And the Taliban had threatened the Americans with consequences if they failed to meet the May 1st withdrawal date set by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump. Nothing happened then.
With the Afghans seeking protection, who can no longer be flown out in time, Biden is likely to have lost all trust. The confidence of the allies in the US and in the new president has also been shaken by the debacle in Afghanistan. The big celebrated new beginning of the transatlantic relationship has already come to an end.
After taking office in January, Biden had promised that the US would again rely on cooperation instead of Trump’s solo efforts. He even claims that coalition partners in Afghanistan approved his withdrawal plans. In fact, they could only approve of his unilateral decision. The fact that they did not have to report anything about the deadline for the evacuations should increase the frustration considerably. In Europe, but also in the USA, Biden’s actions in Afghanistan are compared to Trump’s “America First” policy – which the new president actually wanted to end.
Röttgen: “A moral and political failure”
In Berlin, the displeasure with the Biden government in matters of Afghanistan can be clearly felt. “This has far-reaching consequences for the transatlantic relationship that cannot yet be foreseen in detail,” says the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, Norbert Röttgen. “It’s a moral and a political failure.” Shortly before the G7 summit, the CDU politician expressed his hope “that the evacuation will now be agreed and coordinated” – in vain.
The Afghanistan crisis is likely to have long-term consequences for the Western alliance. After the end of the evacuation operation at the latest, the US partners will be asked what lessons they can learn from the latest events. It is conceivable that countries like France will use the events as an opportunity to push even more for military independence of the EU – with reference to the dependence on the USA and its consequences.
The subject of strategic autonomy will come back on the table and it will have to be discussed what that means, predicted the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell last Thursday. This crisis will also be an opportunity to further develop the European Union as an independent political actor.
After the G7 meeting, Merkel only said that they were aware that “a whole series of long-term questions” would arise for the transatlantic alliance. There was no time for that on Tuesday. As for the evacuation mission, there was no critical word from Merkel. She praised “the smooth cooperation (…) under the leadership of the American army”. “We are very grateful for the professionalism with which they work.”
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
