Commentary by José Álvares*
I’ve been avoiding criticising the White House on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan as it was the right thing to do, but to see Joe Biden calling it an “extraordinary success” was bonkers. Throwing leftover dust of the Afghan soil to our eyes won’t work as we happened to follow what unfolded - there is only so much one can spin.
In fact, just some time ago Mr. Biden was saying that the Taliban weren’t going to take Kabul any time soon, but now he blames the deposed Afghan government, which the US had been training and supporting for two decades, for not holding their ground. Perhaps the reality was that the government in Kabul didn’t have the support of the people, as the Taliban ran from city to city with little to no resistance.
I can’t defend the Taliban at all, especially given some of the principles they follow, but perhaps there is indeed a reckoning that Western values cannot be forcefully imposed on communities that are not yet fully receptive of the same – instead, one must preach to them with time, patience and non-violent means. A great example is how the global community is dealing with Iran or North Korea, which seek to develop weapons of mass destruction that they are not fit to hold. Those countries have been held at bay through cooperation and consensus on the international front, though we witnessed the perils of selfish interests jeopardising such a hard accomplished status quo (in particular, from the previous US administration).
Even if we don’t agree with the US invasion of Afghanistan in the first place, one has to concede there was a strong motive – fighting one of the most abhorrent crimes against humanity, terrorism. Not that the Taliban themselves were seemingly engaging in such behaviour, but they were accused of harbouring terrorists and it must be clear that there is zero tolerance for anyone fostering or remotely knowingly helping those that use violent means against civilians in the pursuit of political aims. We all vividly recall with horror what happened on 9/11. Having said so, we should also reflect on why such attacks even came about, namely how interference with other people’s affairs can breed such anger and resentment. In any case, in that regard, the Taliban did seem to have learnt a lesson and their cooperation with the US on the withdrawal shows there is at least a red line that can be drawn and which the Taliban will adhere to.
Notwithstanding the heartbreaking suicide bombing outside Kabul airport last week, whose perpetrators took advantage of the desperation of many on the ground and yet again showed why terrorism must be strictly fought, the evacuation operations did show impressive military prowess. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make up for the loss of moral leadership after 20 years of occupation that hardly accomplished any progress and ended with the abandonment of many that believed in promises made. It is a wake-up call to some that are abandoning impartiality and balance in other global matters, blindly taking sides to appease those with a supposed moral standing that turns out to be hollower than it seemed.
– Partner and co-founder of CA Lawyers
