The other day, answering a briefing question as to what signal does Washington leave to its allies and friends after moving out of Afghanistan, head of US State Department's press service Ned Price said there is nothing more important for the US foreign policy and diplomacy than a system of alliances and partnerships. This is what he literally said: "Our message to all of our partners around the world is clearly reflected in our actions, in this country’s actions, both over the past two decades and now. No country has done more for the country of Afghanistan, for the people of Afghanistan – no country has done more in the context of Afghanistan to energize and to concentrate the attention of the international community. There is nothing more important to us when it comes to our foreign policy and our diplomacy than our systems of alliances and partnerships."
High-sounding words, definitely. They fully reflect the typical statements by the White House. If only those statements were supported by Washington's particular actions... As the current situation in Afghanistan shows, the country is an utter mess, which the United States is precisely to blame for. A bright example is attempts by foreigners and the Afghans who collaborated with the United States to break through to the Kabul airport, with its ongoing evacuation of all those willing to leave Afghanistan, which is 90% conquered by militants of the Taliban movement (banned in Russia – ed. note).
US President Joe Biden delivers statements about evacuation efficiency. If we follow his words, America has recently taken away a total of over 18 thousand people since July and about 13 thousand since passenger traffic resumed on August 14. In his recent speech, President Biden also pointed to some six thousand American military personnel staying at the Kabul airport to ensure runway safety, secure the air harbor's perimeter and help evacuate civilians.
However, despite all the bombastic rhetoric by Washington, US allies express doubts about its reliability as regards the situation in Afghanistan. And there are a number of reasons for that. For instance, it is not yet clear whether the Americans managed to take control of the situation in the Kabul airport area. After all, the US State Department and the Pentagon differ significantly in their assessments of whether anyone can get to the airport. The diplomatic department stated it was unable to guarantee safe passage to it, while the military department reported that security was guaranteed by the Taliban.
In turn, President Biden has promised that US troops will stay in Afghanistan after operation ends on August 31, once it's necessary to help the Americans out. As we can see, he only refers to the US citizens, not those of its allies or Washington's Afghan aides. For example, one and a half hundred Indian servicemen from the international coalition that fought in Afghanistan were reported to be "lost" somewhere around the Kabul airport.
Even the usually forgiving media are displeased with such a conduct by the American leader. Thus, the CNN website writes as follows: "The issue is not even over the President's decision to leave a war that long ago lost public support. Instead, he is being asked to answer for things that were in his power to influence: the poorly planned evacuation effort, the failure to speed up visa processing for thousands of Afghans and the missed opportunity to get US citizens out earlier." Note that criticism of President Biden is bipartisan.
Interestingly, the US approach to solving problems (or ignoring them) has even caused criticism with Washington's closest ally, the United Kingdom. This country, be it noted, lost 454 soldiers in the Afghan war but was not engaged in planning the withdrawal. Former British Army chief Richard Dannatt said: "The manner and timing of the Afghan collapse is the direct result of President Biden’s decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of 9/11. At a stroke, he has undermined the patient and painstaking work of the last five, 10, 15 years to build up governance in Afghanistan, develop its economy, transform its civil society and build up its security forces. The people had a glimpse of a better life – but that has been torn away."
In turn, during a British Parliament debate, member of the country's Conservative Party and veteran of Afghanistan Tom Tugendhat said the UK has come to understand that interdependence should not turn into over-reliance. His country can be a better partner to others once it has some options and an opportunity to factor into decisions. He suggested that the lessons should be considered for future interaction with the United States in the realm of common military operations.
We shall make a short digression here. Long before Joe Biden took office as US president, head of the European Union's foreign policy department Josep Borrel heaped praises on him and welcomed a new era of cooperation between Brussels and Washington. Like almost all the Western allies of the United States, by the way. The current US failure in Kabul, provoked by President Biden's decision to hastily withdraw American troops from Afghanistan and the subsequent chaos in that country, has undoubtedly shattered the "great illusion" concerning reliability of America's allied obligations.
Today, for many US partners, primarily in Europe, Joe Biden's statement that "our only vital national interest in Afghanistan remains today what it has always been: preventing a terrorist attack on American homeland" sounds rather strange. Brussels believes these words could belong to Donald Trump, not the incumbent head of the White House. It is not by chance in this regard that French MP Nathalie Loiseau put it really harsh when touching upon the unexpected break between the EU and Biden: "We lived a little bit a great illusion. We thought America was back, while in fact America withdraws."
In conclusion, I would like to note that Washington's decision to hastily withdraw American troops from Afghanistan and all the subsequent events have greatly undermined the allied confidence of its friends and partners in the United States. Moreover, this step by Washington endangers not only countries of Central and South Asia, but also jeopardized US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region, which is vital for the White House in its current confrontation with China.
