At the end of twenty years of presence in Afghanistan, the longest war waged by the United States ends with a spectacular victory for the Taliban which tarnishes the image of the world's leading power…

Afghanistan: Taliban's flash conquest tarnishes US image

The US government had to urgently evacuate its embassy in Kabul after the fall of the Afghan government on Sunday, August 15, 2021 (Illustrative image).

Text by: RFI Follow

5 mins

At the end of twenty years of presence in Afghanistan, the longest war led by the United States ends with a spectacular victory by the Taliban which tarnishes the image of the world's leading power.

Publicity

The American flag was withdrawn Monday, August 16 from the United States embassy in Kabul, whose "

almost all

" staff are at the airport awaiting evacuation, the State Department said. While the military is protecting Kabul airport for a hasty departure of Americans and Westerners from Afghanistan.

According to the Pentagon, around thirty thousand people are to be evacuated: diplomats or American nationals and Afghan civilians, and to supervise the operations, the boss of the White House has still authorized the sending of 1000 additional soldiers, reports our correspondent in New York,

Loïg Loury

. They will be 6000, on site within 48 hours. But the impression remains of immense failure and humiliation for the Americans, pushed out two weeks from the fixed date.

The collapse on Sunday August 15 of the Afghan government and its army financed by Washington, the flight abroad of President Ashraf Ghani, the ballet of helicopters to evacuate the staff of the American embassy: these historical facts are likely to weigh much more heavy as the assurances of the Biden government on a "

successful

mission

Joe Biden and his Secretary of State Antony Blinken may repeat that the maintenance of the American presence would not have changed anything, it is indeed twenty years of war, summarizes the

New York Times

, which end as they had started: with the Taliban in power.

And with less than a month from the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, one can expect the question of "

Why?"

»Be asked again with force: why these nearly 2,500 American lives lost?

Why this bill exceeding $ 2 trillion?

Loss of credibility

Some are already worried, like Republican elected representative Liz Cheney, that the debacle will undermine Washington's action in certain theaters abroad, the United States no longer inspiring the same fear in their countries. opponents. The American rout means "

America's rivals know they can threaten us, and our allies are questioning this morning whether they can count on us for anything,

" lamented the parliamentary.

Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, confirms this: "

America's credibility as an ally is eroded because of the way the Afghan government was abandoned during the Doha talks

," said he, referring to the cycle of international meetings held in Qatar, before getting bogged down.

Against China

For his part, US Secretary Tony Blinken tried to sweep Sunday comparisons with the fall of Saigon in 1975. "

We went to Afghanistan 20 years ago with a mission and that mission was to settle the account of those who attacked us on 9/11.
We have accomplished this mission

”.

"The Taliban is not the North Vietnamese army. There's gonna be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of a embassy of the United States from Afghanistan."

- @ JoeBiden, July 2021 https://t.co/AUxqmbr2lY

- Edward Snowden (@Snowden) August 15, 2021

But staying in Afghanistan indefinitely "

is not in our national interest

," he added, recalling that the United States now wanted to give itself the means to counter China's aggressive policy in the Pacific.

There is nothing our strategic competitors would like more than to see us stuck in Afghanistan for another 5, 10 or 20 years

," Blinken said.

For its part, China has already started to exploit the situation, through an analysis published by the state daily

Global Times

According to this newspaper known for its nationalist tone, Afghanistan illustrates how the United States would be "

an untrustworthy actor, which always abandons its partners and allies in the search of its own interests

Afghanistan: Taliban's flash conquest tarnishes US image

Afghanistan: Taliban's flash conquest tarnishes US image

Loss of credibility

Against China

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest