A US Air Force aircraft takes off from the airport in Kabul on Aug 30, 2021.
(AMIR QURESHI / AFP)
The abrupt end of the longest US war on Aug 30 belies US wrongs in inflicting disasters to Islamic nations by unjust invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and its failure in counter-terrorism missions, but harbingers a new beginning for the war-torn nation at the heart of Asian continent, analysts said.
Twenty years ago, the United States invaded Afghanistan to eliminate and counter the security threat that was emanating from al-Qaeda which the United States on slim evidence accused the Taliban administration of backing. During the final days of the traumatic evacuation from Kabul airport since Aug 15, the people that the US called partners about 25 years ago but enemies for recent two decades are today accepted again as the governing force of Afghanistan.
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It is ironic that after spending trillions of US dollars, after 20 years, after killing more than 30,000 civilians and leaving millions homeless, and also after losing over 2,000 American soldiers, the US has to allow the once-toppled Taliban to return to power, said Mustafa Hyder Sayed, executive director of the Pakistan-China Institute.
Afghanistan is a good example of the double standards that the US exercises and the doom of hypocritical imposition of own will upon others. US foreign policy is not based on principles or ethics, but on political interests which can sometimes trump human interests and people’s lives, he said.
Salman Bashir, former foreign secretary of Pakistan and a former ambassador to China, said, “The final withdrawal of the US military from Afghanistan closes another traumatic chapter in the history of that country and constitutes an opportunity for a new beginning in the quest for stability, peace and development of Afghani nation.”
When it was for US interest, the White House and Pentagon turn the Afghan Taliban into an enemy, but another day when the Afghan Taliban were required to serve US interests, they made the Taliban a partner, he said.
The Taliban is known to have grown with US support from the beginning to counter Soviet forces in Afghanistan in mid 1990s, only to be uprooted by US-led invasion in late 2001.
He urged that the US should stop endeavors for invading another country or for regime change in other countries, because it is at too much cost of people’s lives.
Salman Bashir, former foreign secretary of Pakistan and a former ambassador to China, said, “The final withdrawal of the US military from Afghanistan closes another traumatic chapter in the history of that country and constitutes an opportunity for a new beginning in the quest for stability, peace and development of Afghani nation.”
“Afghanistan should never again become an arena for geopolitical games,” he said.
After two decades of bloodshed and instability, “one thing is clear: Afghans never accept foreign rule,” said Amina Khan, director of the Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad.
According to Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Center for Research and Security Studies in Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban had been waiting for this moment for years and they have been urging the US to fulfill its commitment.
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As the Taliban had said that the jihad will end only when all the foreign troops are out of Afghanistan, which explains why the Taliban spokesperson declared the complete independence of Afghanistan from foreign occupation and Taliban soldiers fired arms to the sky in celebration on Aug 30 after the US C-17 plane left Kabul.
Taliban fighters investigate a damaged car after multiple rockets were fired in Kabul on Aug 30, 2021. (WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP)
To Distinguished Research Fellow Wang Peng at the Center for American Studies, Zhejiang International Studies University, Aug 30 means the two decades of war waged by the US against all the Islamic around the world, which included the war on Afghanistan since 2001 after the 9/11 attack, a series of social-political “color revolutions” and consequent regime changes (referring to the Arab Spring) in the Middle East, has finally come to its end.
Moreover, ending the US war does not mean the end of US accountability for the Afghan people. The deadly suicide bombing at the Kabul airport on Aug 26 portends US failure in eliminating terrorists in Afghanistan, its major goal from 2001, and further troubles for Afghans
After the disgrace, some people within the United States are expected to learn some lesson from it, Wang said. So, in the future when Washington decision makers are to get involved in or wage a new war, to replace one regime by another, they’d better think twice before act.
Moreover, ending the US war does not mean the end of US accountability for the Afghan people. The deadly suicide bombing at the Kabul airport on Aug 26 portends US failure in eliminating terrorists in Afghanistan, its major goal from 2001, and further troubles for Afghans.
The US can follow a policy of engagement and contribute towards the development of the country, instead of choosing to disengage, Khan said.
Moreover, Khan saw the end of war as “a historic opportunity”. “At the same time the real test of Afghanistan has begun.” The country has tremendous economic potential, which can be realized with the cooperation and support of its neighbors and the international community.
Sayed added that hopefully Afghanistan will have a broad-based, inclusive government which can have the Taliban and other factions, and are representative of the people.
It is hoped that Afghanistan will now focus on forging unity and wholeheartedly work for socio-economic development, said Bashir. “The incoming government should guarantee the human rights of all people, provide good governance and rid Afghanistan from the scourge of terrorism.”
vivienxu@chinadailyapac.com