The rapid disintegration of the Afghan army in the face of the Taliban advance just days before the completion of the U.S. withdrawal left the U.S. government, together with its media, scrambling to maintain control of the narrative.
They blamed the defeat on their Afghan proxies. They also pointed to the unwillingness of Afghans to “fight for their country” and on Afghan “corruption and malfeasance.” This, instead of considering the corruption involved in occupying a sovereign country, as well as the weakness and illegitimacy of a non-popular government installed by an invading force. For the United States, proxy forces are ultimately as expendable as the multitudes of people the United States puts them in power to thwart.
Stories of former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fleeing the country with suitcases of cash were juxtaposed with those of the United States attempting to rescue Afghans from the Taliban. This group was an outgrowth of the Mujahideen forces the United States funded 40 years ago to destabilize an independent, progressive Afghan government.
According to many in the U.S. media, the “failure” of the United States was limited to a poorly-executed withdrawal and “failure to win,” omitting any discussion of the war’s illegality. Concern for women’s rights escalated as the withdrawal devolved into chaos, just as it was used to justify the initial invasion. Despite this rhetoric, thousands of women died during the war. Outside the bubble of walled and razor-wired military bases and militarized cities such as Kabul, the majority of Afghan women lived in poverty during the U.S./NATO occupation.
Meanwhile, the majority of Afghans did not benefit from the trillions of Western dollars that flowed into the country. The economy under the occupation was largely a house of cards. It was built on military spending, rife with fraud, a patchwork of private Western NGOs and aid agencies, and a ballooning opium trade that purportedly funded U.S. covert operations.
Rather than building a ‘functioning democracy’ and a lasting infrastructure to support the needs of the people, the trillions of U.S. dollars served only to enrich a small elite comprising weapons manufacturers, private contractors and wealthy holders of war debt, among others.
And now, after devastating the country with tens of thousands of bombs, the United States and its European allies offer no material support in rebuilding the country.
Instead, they feign concern about the burgeoning humanitarian crisis, while waging economic warfare to exacerbate the rapid collapse of the economy. The imperialists immediately expanded sanctions against the Taliban and froze the country’s financial assets, blocking access to nearly a third of Afghanistan’s already low annual GDP. This unleashed severe currency devaluation, hyperinflation and skyrocketing food prices. In addition, the IMF suspended millions in planned emergency funding and froze funds specifically designated to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
The United States demands an “inclusive government” to confer “legitimacy” on the Taliban as a condition for releasing needed funding. Yet, the United States routinely uses regime change and destruction against governments that have advanced women’s rights, while embracing brutal, patriarchal regimes that have condemned women to second-class status.
U.S. President Joe Biden stated, “It’s the right… of the Afghan people alone to decide their future.” But it is clear the U.S. ruling class considers no country outside a small coterie of Western European states to possess any meaningful sovereignty.
The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan inaugurated the so-called “War on Terror.” That has since expanded into 80 countries across the world, leaving 6 million people dead and an estimated 37 million refugees. Predictably and fittingly, the United States left Afghanistan the way it came: With an arrogant display of horrendous violence amid suspicious claims and countless contradictions. A U.S. drone strike—supposedly in retaliation for the “ISIS-K terror attack” in Kabul—left seven children dead, marking the formal end of the war on Afghanistan.
The United States may have abandoned its military bases in Afghanistan, but nearly 800 U.S. bases remain across the world. That includes those bases encircling China and Russia, both considered a threat to the Western dominance of the world’s resources. Meanwhile, the United States continues to arm and infiltrate militaries across West Asia, Central Europe, Latin America and the African continent. Regime-change efforts and coups continue to target any government that resists Western control. Western weaponry washes across the world, with millions of dollars’ worth channeled to militarized police forces, domestically and abroad. This, while over a billion people suffer from the terror of economic sanctions.
It’s uncertain what the U.S. empire now intends for Afghanistan and the region. China, Iran and Russia have expressed concern about potential instability from extremist groups amid the flood of refugees. Claims have escalated in U.S. media of a growing presence of Al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan, leaving open a window for further U.S. military action.
Yet, the end of the U.S. war on Afghanistan is a small victory for those fighting U.S. imperial power. The failure of the United States to dominate the region and control Afghan resources exposes a crack in the facade of U.S. power and supremacy, and offers hope to all countries and all peoples engaged in war against U.S. aggression.
For Further Reading
The end of the official U.S. occupation and the Taliban retakes power:
Afghanistan: The Longest US War Continues to a New Stage, CounterPunch
Escobar: What To Expect From Taliban 2.0, Zero Hedge
The U.S. continuation of war on Afghanistan via economic means:
Biden Administration Freezes Billions of Dollars in Afghan Reserves, Depriving Taliban of Cash, The Seattle Times
U.S. Plans – Sanctions and Famine for Afghanistan, Workers World
Afghanistan and the opium trade:
Geopolitics, Profit, and Poppies: How the CIA Turned Afghanistan into a Failed Narco-State, Mint Press News
From History: Afghanistan and the CIA Heroin Ratline, Albilad
The U.S. use of terror in its “War on Terror”:
Blowback: Taliban target US intel's shadow army, The Cradle
How The CIA Used ISIS-K To Keep Its Afghanistan Business, Moon of Alabama
Enduring Terror Forever: From Al-Qaeda to ISIS-K, Orinoco Tribune
How the West Created the Islamic State, CounterPunch
To learn more about BAP’s work on Afghanistan, visit our resources page
Banner photo: A U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan killed 10 civilians last month. A relative examines the damage. The U.S. has finally admitted that the strike was a mistake. (Jim Huylebroek / The New York Times)