PanamaTimes

Friday, Mar 29, 2024

What was the point of the war in Afghanistan?

What was the point of the war in Afghanistan?

On 7 October 2001 President George W. Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom – the invasion of Afghanistan. The operation sought to bring the architects of 9/11 to justice and reduce the threat of terrorism.

Twenty years later, President Joe Biden has pledged to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by 31 August, bringing to a close the United States’s longest-ever conflict – known colloquially as ‘the forever war’.
But Biden, who supported the invasion, is pulling out at a time when the Taliban – the highly-conservative Islamic organisation that was harbouring al-Qaeda in 2001 – is sweeping through half the country, killing civilians and human-rights defenders and besieging three cities. The US withdrawal, at a time of grave uncertainty, reinforces the futility of its involvement in the first place.

Violence in Afghanistan was already increasing in May, when this final phase of the American withdrawal began. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of ‘huge consequences’ if the US army departed, and one of her predecessors, Condoleezza Rice, predicted that America would be forced to return to the country.

Given the Taliban’s recent military ascendence and its continued persecution of its opponents, it’s probable that the gains made by the fledgling Afghan state – such as in women’s rights – will soon be lost. Biden, who pledged to ‘protect and empower women around the world’ during his campaign for the presidency, will be very aware that forced marriages and sexual slavery could soon follow.

Biden defends the withdrawal on two grounds. The first is that a continued military presence is no longer in American interests. In an address last month, he maintained that the country has more pressing concerns: the coronavirus pandemic, the cyber-security threat, climate change, and what he described as a ‘strategic competition with China’.

Biden’s second justification – that the US is leaving because it has accomplished its original aims – is much more tenuous. In last month’s address, he maintained:

Bin Laden might be dead, but his organisation remains. According to Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British diplomat in the Middle East who now monitors al-Qaeda and the Taliban for the United Nations, ‘the al-Qaeda senior leadership is present in Afghanistan, present and co-located with the Taliban.’

Under the terms of the peace agreement between the United States and the Taliban, signed in Doha in February 2020, the Taliban are obliged to sever ties with al-Qaeda. Fitton-Brown, however, says that ‘the Taliban links to al-Qaeda are close. There is no suggestion that the Taliban has done anything substantive or decisive to live up to its obligations to suppress any future threat from al-Qaeda.’

In other words, if the Taliban do regain power, the US will be leaving Afghanistan in the kind of state that prompted it to invade in the first place.

Even Biden, who is trying to justify withdrawing from Afghanistan, does not anticipate good faith from the Taliban. Asked by journalists if he trusted the group, he replied, ‘Is that a serious question? No, I do not. But I trust the capacity of the Afghan military’

Biden also has an emotive argument. ‘How many thousands more of America’s daughters and sons are you willing to risk?’ he asked his detractors. ‘How long would you have them stay?’

There is logic to Biden’s move, especially if you believe that the only long-term solution to instability in Afghanistan is an intra-Afghan peace deal. The trouble is, the Taliban seem in a bellicose mood.

The US withdrawal might be the least-bad option, but it emphasises the pointlessness of the war. The American army is leaving a country it should never have entered, at a time when Afghanistan faces an existential threat that would return it to the pre-intervention status quo.

This is a war that has cost the US two trillion dollars. Thousands of Afghan and Nato troops have died. It led to the establishment of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp. Regardless of whether or not it is the right decision, the US withdrawal prompts the question – what was it all for?
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
Global Law Enforcement Dismantles Lockbit Ransomware Operation
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
The President of Argentina Javier Mile does not fly private, he flies commercial, with the citizens he represents. And they LOVE him for it.
Bitcoin Reaches $50,000 for First Time in Over Two Years
Belo Horizonte: Brazil's Rising Carnival Hotspot for 2024
In El Salvador, the 'Trump of Latin America' stuns the world with a speech slamming woke policing after winning a landslide election
Tucker’s interview with Putin is over 50M views on X within the first 5 hours.
Finnish Airline, Finnair, is voluntarily weighing passengers to better estimate flight cargo weight
President Nayib Bukele has proudly announced El Salvador's remarkable achievement of becoming the safest nation in the Western Hemisphere.
Former Chilean President Sebastian Piñera Dies in Helicopter Crash
This farmer seems to understand science a bit more than the event organizer, Klaus Schwab.
Facebook turns 20: From Mark Zuckerberg's dormitory to a $1trn company
The Coolest Dictator in the World" on the Path to Victory in El Salvador
Macron, France and fake news
Indian-Origin Man 'King' Arrested For Smuggling $16 Million Drugs Into US
Can someone teach Americans that not every person with slanted eyes is Chinese?
Europe's Farmers Feeding the People, Protesting Against Politicians Who Do Nothing for Their Country and Serve Only Themselves at Taxpayers' Expense
Paris Restaurant That Inspired 'Ratatouille' Loses $1.6 Million Worth Of Wine
Brazilian Police Investigate Bolsonaro's Son for Alleged Illegal Spying
Police in Brazil Raid Residence of Bolsonaro Associate Over Allegations of Illegal Spying
Border Dispute Escalates as Texas Governor Vows Increased Razor Wire
OpenAI Enhances ChatGPT-4 Model, Potentially Addressing AI "Laziness" Issue
The NSA finally acknowledges spying on Americans by acquiring sensitive data
Report Reveals Toxic Telegram Group Generating X-Rated AI-Generated Fake Images of Taylor Swift
US Border Patrol States 'No Plans' to Remove Razor Wire Installed in Texas
Bitcoin Experiences Approximately 20% Decline in Value
Klaus Schwab recently appointed himself as the Earth's "trustee of the future."
DeSantis Drops Out, Endorses Trump.
Nikki Haley said former President Trump is "just not at the same level" of mental fitness as he was while president in 2016.
Residents of a southern Mexican town set the government palace on fire in response to the police killing of a young man
Samsung Launches AI-Driven Galaxy S24, Ushering in New Smartphone Era
Judge Questions SEC's Regulatory Overreach in Coinbase Lawsuit
The Ecuador prosecutor who was investigating the television studio attack, has been assassinated.
Is artificial intelligence the solution to cyber security threats?
Vivek Ramaswamy suspends his US election campaign and endorses Trump.
Viral Satire: A Staged Satirical Clip Mistaken as Real Footage from the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos
The AI Revolution in the Workforce: CEOs at Davos Predict Major Job Cuts in 2024
Ecuador Reports 178 Hostages in Prison Gang Standoff
The Startling Cuban Espionage Case That Has Rattled the US Government
Two Armed Men in Ecuador, Dressed as Batman and The Joker Storm the Streets.
Armed Gang Raids Ecuadorian TV Station Following State of Emergency Declaration
Anti-Democratic Canada: Journalist Arrested for Questioning Canadian Finance Minister on Support of Terrorist Group
Ecuador's 'Most-Wanted' Criminal Vanishes from Prison
Mexican Cartel Supplied Wi-Fi to Locals Under Threat of Fatal Consequences for Non-Compliance
Border Surge Leads to Over 11,000 Migrants Waiting in Northern Mexico
Outsider Candidates Triumph in Latin American Elections
As Argentina Goes to the Polls, Will the Proposal to Replace the Peso with the Dollar Secure Votes?
Fatal Shark Attack Claims Life of Boston Woman Paddleboarding Near Bahamas Resort, According to Police
×