Biden has been criticized by George W. Bush, no less, for leaving Afghanistan before "Mission Accomplished". And it is true that the creation of a stable functioning democracy looks imperiled. The Mujaheddin outlasted the Russians in the 1980s and the Taliban (which owes its existence to the tribal conflicts between the Mujaheddin fighters) have done the same to the Americans in the 21st century, using weapons captured from the Russians.
It is fair to say that the US withdrawal may lead to the collapse of the Afghan government and the return of the Taliban theocracy which is indeed tragic for a great many Afghans, women in particular. While it has been pointed out that we still have troops in Germany, that is a flawed comparison; the US could pull its troops out of German and the Nazis would not return to power. (US forces are there for a quite different Cold War related reason).
If, as seems likely, the withdrawal of US troops results in the Taliban reimposing their medieval theocratic regime, it will be a sad day, but only seen as a failure by those who view the US' role in exporting its model of democracy and maintaining it by force. (Some might argue that looks a lot like colonialism but that's a digression). If one takes a less paternalistic view of America's role in the world, one that does not include "nation-building", then the removal of Al Qaeda training camps was indeed accomplished some while ago. And the goal of creating a democratic state is perhaps best seen as more of an idealistic after-thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment