Horrific results of U.S.’ botched withdrawal
For years, Americans hoped we could end the endless war of Afghanistan on a note of peace and prosperity. Four United States presidents later, that expectation never manifested. As the American troops began withdrawing, the Taliban forces returned to power in the capital of Kabul on August 15, toppling the government and shedding more blood in the streets of Kabul. Thousands of Afghans are displaced, and many who helped us fear for their lives.
The war in Afghanistan is far from over. Thanks to the botched evacuation efforts of Biden’s administration, the Taliban are now able to pose direct harm to the Americans and its allies by accessing the tools and resources we have left there. Additionally, they can leverage their newly gained power to build new ties with our adversaries, most notably China. As a result, having the Taliban in power will be more costly to humanity now more than ever.
One aspect that has been downplayed so far in the media is the Taliban’s access to NATO’s digital information in Afghanistan. While the American forces and diplomats destroyed their sensitive data on Afghans, many data centers across Kabul are readily available for exploitation. For example, the Taliban has seized U.S. military biometric devices containing iris scans and fingerprints of Afghan citizens that can now be utilized to track down those who helped U.S. and NATO forces.
According to Politico, “Telecom companies store reams of records on who Afghan users have called and where they’ve been. Government databases include records of foreign-funded projects and associated personnel records. And stashes of biometric data like fingerprints make people easy to identify.” Thomas Warrick, a former Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism official, has also stated that, “There’s almost no doubt that they’ve gotten their hands on an enormously valuable trove of information that they can exploit at their leisure.” The Taliban could also market the sensitive data on U.S. interests and allies and sell it to China, our biggest adversary.
American politicians have argued that Afghanistan is a sovereign nation and it should defend itself against its enemies. Unfortunately, they do not understand the nature of Pashtun vs. other ethnic groups’ conflict and try to fit it into their worldview. The Taliban did not build Afghanistan’s economy or establish a civil society when it was in power. After the Soviet forces left Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, the Islamic Taliban faction of the Pashtun tribes seized control of southern Afghanistan and Kabul. They began rigid behavioral codes on the Afghan citizens and prevented women and girls a place in society. Women were not allowed to have careers or go to school. Health care was unavailable to them. They had to cover their bodies from head to toes. Before the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the collapse of the Taliban, they funded their military efforts through drug trafficking, becoming the world’s largest producer of opium.
During my childhood in Iran, I remember when the Afghan refugee crisis began in the early 2000s. Millions of Afghans who sought refuge in
Iran struggled greatly for a stable life. Many of them could never go back to their home and had lost touch with their loved ones.
Political commentator Brad Polumbo argued in a recent article for the Foundation for Economic Education that, “it would be a win-win for both the Afghans fleeing tyranny and the U.S. economy” for the U.S. to take in Afghan refugees.
Although Polumbo is correct regarding opening our doors for those who need humanitarian assistance in these tumultuous times, this is far from a win-win situation for the Afghan people. They have lost their homeland to a theocentric terrorist group due to our botched efforts to mitigate the consequences of withdrawing.
Many have lost friends and family members as a result of this violent and chaotic transition. We also can’t forget those who are still in Afghanistan and will no longer have the same life under Taliban rule.
On August 24, Biden discussed continued humanitarian aid to Afghanistan after the evacuation. Yet, this is another virtue signaling on behalf of the administration, and it will be impossible to deliver.
Any humanitarian aid will end up in the hands of those who kill and oppress the Afghanis in the first place.
Now, governments worldwide face another practical and moral dilemma when it comes to dealing with a nation in the hands of a group that has no interest in protecting its citizens nor respect human rights. Are we going to trade, negotiate and accept the Taliban as legitimate rulers of Afghanistan, or are we going to confront the bitter reality that yet another terrorist group has a whole territory to dwell? Unfortunately, the path forward is not going to be a cookie-cutter one.
Currently, the only option left for Biden to curb the regional and international dangers posed by the Taliban aside from a direct conflict is to deter those governments that fund and support the Taliban and benefit the most from them being in power.