‘Teachings of Afghanistan’

, Point-Counterpoint

Dr. Mahfuz Parvez, Associate Editor, Barta24.com, Dhaka | 2023-08-31 13:12:10

The review, survey and evaluation of Afghanistan is in full swing. Most of all, the return of American troops is a benefit-loss autopsy. Needless to say, in these cases, the various parties are presenting their views in the light of their own position and interests. As a result, the character and education of the current situation in Afghanistan is getting different looks to different countries.

Like Soviet Russia in 1979, the United States came in 2001 to build a "new Afghanistan." In reality, nothing happened to it. Just as the Afghans did not learn socialism from the Russians, they did not learn democracy from the Americans. There are Afghans just like there are Afghans. With a few exceptions in the cities, their lives revolve around the hill-jungle tribal independent and reckless life.

As a result, the mission of the Americans like the Russians has also failed. The United States has virtually fled the field, leaving behind a 2 trillion Himalayan-like investment in 20 years. According to President Biden's administration, the sooner it is withdrawn, the better for America and the lower the losses. Because, even after so many arrangements, when the resistance against the Taliban is far from over, and the American-backed Afghan troops have not even tried to go to the slightest fight, then the cost in vain is a meaningless waste.

Instead, the Taliban seized American weapons given to Afghan forces after fleeing. In this, the Taliban group has increased its power not only politically but also militarily. Analysts have also used the data to provide evidence of the Taliban's growing military might because what America gave to the Afghan government is worth about 280 crore dollars. Between 2002 and 2017, the United States spent about 830 crore dollars on military training and development, in addition to funding for armaments.

After seizing power, the Taliban seized this huge weapon stock. Two thousand armored vehicles, Humvees, warplanes, helicopters (e.g., Blackhawk helicopters), scanned eagle drones and aircraft are all now in Taliban hands. Other weapons seized by the Taliban include assault rifles, M16s, mortars, howitzers, body armor, night goggles, IEDs and ground rockets. There is also a large arsenal of weapons, a US-created biometric database, and a US military base left under Taliban control.

Then the wave of America's declaration of a 'new Afghanistan' was not only crushed by the huge defeat, but also made the opponent strong enough. The ‘new Afghanistan’ is a distant, ‘more conflict and war’ reality that exists. The evolving situation in Afghanistan raises many such concerns.

As a result, the huge defeat of the United States in Afghanistan and the multifaceted benefits of the Taliban are not to be avoided. The answer to this question lies in why the United States left Afghanistan out of the illusion of huge investments. Because, America understood exactly that all the arrangements are not just going bankrupt, wasteful and corrupt, they are being added to the profit record of the Taliban. Biden understood that when he was vice president. He opposed Afghan policy. Shortly after becoming president, he withdrew from the never-ending costly Afghan project.

On the way back to Afghanistan after 10 years, Soviet Russia carried with it the burden of the cost of defeat, which accelerated the break-up of the Soviet Union. If America had more days, the extent of their danger would have increased. The world's knowledge factories, where the poorest analysts, strategists, government advisers are sitting, have secretly realized that the ground in Afghanistan has shifted. Although it did not openly admit it due to its self-esteem, the United States has already accepted this difficult fact and moved away earlier. The world's top country has been saved from a bigger disaster and stigma.

In fact, America wanted to defeat the enemy, as well as build a ‘new Afghanistan’ by improving its international image. This framework worked in the case of Germany or Japan, but not in third world countries. It showed Vietnam, the Middle East and Afghanistan. The process of nation-building in America's own way has completely failed in South Vietnam and Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is a country ruled by ‘war lords’. That country has a conflicting history of huge racial diversity. It is really difficult to fight in a country that has not been tired at all after 42 years of war since 1989. Those who nurture their own tribal, reckless, independent attitude, why should they follow the American way? This is probably the ‘teachings’ of Afghanistan.

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