The United States abandonment of troops from war-torn Afghanistan may well go down in history as one of the greatest international double-crosses of all time.
The withdrawal left millions of Afghan residents with no hope for future democracy or a growing economy and with fear of imprisonment or worse, slaughter by the Taliban.
Certainly the withdrawal without planning for retrieval of the grateful Afghan people who worked for UN troops and helped them in their efforts to build the economy and democracy is a disgrace and inhumane.
Why didn’t Canada and the United States arrange to get most or all of these allies out of the country well before the end of American troops?
Politics was likely why.
The Trudeau Liberals have come under fire for allowing so many refugees from other countries to come here through the U.S. and didn't need a reminder of these actions in the midst of an election.
U.S. President Joe Biden has his own worries about immigration from Central America. Another influx of refugees might cause delicate negotiations for his policies to fail.
In the end, the troop withdrawal was all about money.
The United States has spent $2.26 trillion since 2001 trying to prop up democracy, train troops and build infrastructure like schools, hospitals, and roads.
When President Donald Trump looked at the matter with his global political knowledge equal to a fence post, he saw only dollar signs. The cost of war equalled one year’s U.S. budget deficit back then.
Trump never thought of global politics or who would ever trust America again if he pulled the plug after 20 years.
Biden had little choice but to follow. Americans love war in faraway countries until they see body bags come home.
The situation leaves dictators like Russia’s Putin, China’s Li and Kim in North Korea knowing their invasions won’t be countered by America or its allies. Look out Ukraine and South Korea.
Imagine how the families of soldiers killed in this war, those injured, those suffering from PTSD and all the veterans with their horrible memories feel. Was it all for nothing?
A few good things came out of the situation. Afghan life span increased from 56 years to 64. And the literacy rate increased from eight per cent to 43 per cent.
Unfortunately, Afghanistan is not a country as we know countries. The territory called Afghanistan is a collection of several dozen fiefdoms ruled by tribal warlords. The most unifying factor in Afghanistan is the Islamic religion.
The territory boundaries were drawn by the colonizing British Empire.
The withdrawal left the world in a mess.
The Taliban, who raked in an estimated $416 million US during 2020 from sales of opium, heroin and meth, will continue to supply the world with narcotics.
Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate will become the playground and safe home for terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and ISIS. And 9/11 types of attacks and online hacking will become more prevalent.
To most people the sudden takeover by the Taliban was incredible.
It too was all about money.
Payoffs to local territorial lords and payments to government police and soldiers made it easy for the Taliban to overrun most of the country in a few days.
Security forces, unpaid for months and fearing the cruel ways of the Taliban, took $125 US and disappeared into the night.
With them went the hopes of millions of Afghani people, especially women, for a less restrictive life.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
