Last week, Joe Biden announced that by September 11th, 2021—twenty years to the day since the worst terrorist attack in American history—all American troops will have left the country of Afghanistan.
“War in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multigenerational undertaking,” President Biden said last Wednesday from the White House Treaty Room. “We were attacked. We went to war with clear goals. We achieved those objectives. Bin Laden is dead and al-Qaeda is degraded in Afghanistan and it's time to end the forever war.”
Ah, yes. The forever war.
Former President Trump applauded Biden for the pull-out, calling it a “wonderful and positive thing to do.”
No. Pulling American troops out of Afghanistan is neither wonderful nor positive.
As American troops depart Afghanistan they leave behind a void that will now be filled by one (or a combination) of three groups: the Taliban, the terrorist groups, or the Chinese. In recent days, the Taliban has surged, leaving in their wake Sharia law and a major crackdown on basic freedoms and liberties. Before U.S. troops initially invaded, Afghanistan was basically a medieval country. People filled stadiums to watch public stonings, women’s rights were virtually non-existent, and education was only a dream. Since the commencement of Operation Enduring Freedom, a somewhat stable government has been established in Kabul, women are freer than ever before, and children are being granted opportunities unknown to them before. With the Americans leaving, President Ashraf Ghani’s government is vulnerable to crumble under a Taliban attack.
Another problem is the resurgence of terrorist groups. Much like Syria became a breeding ground for ISIS and al-Qaeda militants during their civil war; it is likely that as Ghani’s government and the Taliban wage war for control of the country, radical Islamic militants will flood in and establish base camps from which to wage war against the West. We invaded Afghanistan because the Taliban was providing a safe haven for Osama bin Laden. After we’re gone, Afghanistan will almost certainly become a safe haven for the next bin Ladens.
Overarching all of this is the threat posed by a Chinese force in the Middle East. According to The South China Morning Post, China may send “peacekeeping” troops to Afghanistan. “The security forces of the Afghan government are not capable of ensuring Afghan security,” Sun Qi, an international relations specialist at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said. “The situation in Afghanistan might go further into chaos in the future. Cross-border crime, drug trafficking, and smuggling of firearms might proliferate.” The Afghan-China border is forty-six miles long.
An increased Chinese presence in the Middle East would be extremely detrimental to the safety and economy of the United States and our Middle Eastern allies. We must do everything in our power to prohibit the spreading of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative and their desire to become the number one superpower on the globe.
The United States has the responsibility as the strongest nation in the world—not to be the world’s policeman—but to prohibit tyrannical governments like the ones in Beijing and Moscow from increasing their overseas power to the detriment of the rest of the world.
The Middle East is a powder keg, always ready to explode; and the only thing keeping it from going up in flames is the presence of American troops. And it doesn’t have to be a major force. At the time of Joe Biden’s announcement, there was a mere 2,500 troops in Afghanistan. On average, the cost of staying in Afghanistan was $45 billion a year. Yes, of course, that is a lot of money, but much of it was economic aid that will stay in place even after the troop drawdown. The estimated amount going directly to US troops is $13 billion, which pales in comparison to the $1 trillion defense budget or the multi-trillion-dollar aid packages passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We currently have troops in South Korea to dissuade against a North Korean invasion. We have troops in Japan and the Philippines to dissuade Chinese military action. And we have troops all over eastern Europe to dissuade Russian military action.
“America First” does not mean “America only.” This isolationist populism that has grown on the Right and the ever-present opposition to military action on the Left is short-sighted and, frankly, dumb. As much as it may be inconvenient, we rely on the Middle East for gas and oil. Instability in the region has major implications on the economy and national security of the US.
Twenty years on from 9/11, the Taliban will no doubt view the pull-out as a victory. They are strong and poised to topple the current government. And when we return—because we will return—it will not be at a time of our choosing.
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