August 2021, the airport of Kabul, a taking off American military aircraft, from the fuselage of which Afghans fall. Distraught people are torn into the abyss, to whom Washington and the international coalition in 2001 volunteered to provide protection from terrorists, promised help in building a secular state and a new Afghan army. On one day, everything is left in the past, the correspondent of The Moscow Post reports.
And like snow on its head - the forces of the radical Taliban movement (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) entered Kabul without a fight and within hours established control over the capital, even "help" (until September 11) the Americans and their wards to evacuate. Perhaps the new authorities of Afghanistan are fulfilling the "conditions" of an unspoken agreement. Is it possible that a secret arrangement based on the formula "former enemy of my main enemy" could be useful for the United States in the future? This is indicated by both weapons and material resources left by the United States to the new authorities, which gave the Americans time to evacuate.
Inside and around Kabul
After President Ashraf Ghani fled, his deputy Amrullah Saleh, said he was "acting," called for "joining the resistance forces" that are fighting north of Kabul. The New Northern Alliance, a stronghold of resistance, formed in the mountainous province of Panjsher, north of Kabul. According to other reports, Saleh's units occupied the Charikar district in Parwan province. A highway connecting Kabul with Mazar-Sharif, the main city of Balkh province, bordering Central Asia, passes through Charikar and the Salang tunnel.
The height of the Salang pass is 3,878 meters, the Salang tunnel (2676 meters plus 3.6 km of exit galleries) was built in 1958-1964 by Soviet metro builders, in 1976 it was electrified. In 1997, the tunnel was blown up in order to prevent the Taliban from moving north during the civil war. In 2002, the message was opened.
For stability in Afghanistan, the ethnic factor is critical. From this point of view, the current power is in the hands of the Pashtuns. Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras and other ethnic groups have their own interests. Ahmad Masood Jr., an ethnic Tajik, also made a call for resistance. He also declared Panjsher the center of resistance to the Taliban. The former Northern Alliance arose in 1996 as an association of field commanders of northern Afghanistan.
Russia is ready to help restore stability in Afghanistan. A telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took place on August 15. On August 18, the President of the Russian Federation held telephone talks with President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Seyed Ebrahim Raisi. Among other issues, the situation in Afghanistan was discussed.
The crisis did not affect the work of the Russian diplomatic mission. The US Secretary of State called Sergei Lavrov. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry informed his colleague about the Russian assessments and contacts of the Russian Embassy with representatives of all major political forces. The heads of departments agreed on consultations, including with the participation of China, Pakistan, other countries and the UN in the interests of an "inclusive inter-Afghan dialogue."
Lavrov also had a telephone conversation on August 16 with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as well as his Kyrgyz counterpart R.A. Kazakbayev. In particular, the issues of influence on Central Asia of the situation in Afghanistan were discussed. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry on August 16, "after the transfer of power in this country to the Taliban Movement," the situation in Kabul and in the country will stabilize, "the Taliban have begun to restore public order, confirmed guarantees for the safety of local residents and foreign diplomatic missions."
China has so far refrained from recognizing the new government in Kabul, considers the situation to be transitional, offers economic assistance, including the development of copper and other minerals. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a telephone conversation with Secretary of State Blinken, said that the main thing is to prevent a new civil war in Afghanistan, not to allow the region to turn into a "terrorist den." The Chinese authorities intend to provide Afghanistan with "constructive assistance," through dialogue with the United States, to contribute to the settlement. The problem of the terrorist organization Islamic Movement of East Turkestan, whose actions Washington prefers to ignore, was also discussed.
Pakistan, on the border with Afghanistan, opened the key Torham checkpoint, through which more than 700 trucks passed from Pakistan. After consultations with Afghanistan's neighbors and leading countries, Islamabad can recognize the new power in Kabul. Prime Minister Imran Khan, who criticized the United States for its presence in Afghanistan, welcomed the Taliban's seizure of power. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met in Washington with his Pakistani counterpart Moid Yusuf, who was a Taliban supporter when they were in power in 1996-2001.
Iran criticizes the United States, but does not condemn the Taliban. Official Tehran was an ally of the deposed regime. President Ebrahim Raisi expressed the hope that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan will provide an opportunity to restore peace in the country. Iran "as a neighbor and fraternal country invites all factions to come to a national agreement," is ready to continue peacekeeping efforts.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif welcomed the statements of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the formation of a council of Afghan leaders and the settlement of relations with the Taliban in the interests of "dialogue and a peaceful transfer of power." The Iranian Foreign Ministry believes that the United States and NATO should pay Afghanistan compensation for the occupation.
India closed its embassy in Kabul. Former Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh believes that New Delhi should establish contact with the leadership of the movement that seized power in Kabul, "at least at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs."
The new authorities of Afghanistan do not mind if India continues to work on infrastructure construction projects, "the representative of the movement said. Before the Taliban came to power, India, together with Turkmenistan and Pakistan, planned to build a TAPI gas pipeline in Afghanistan for the supply of Turkmen gas, participated in the construction of highways and railways connecting the Iranian port of Chabahar with the Iranian-Afghan border for the transit of goods through Afghanistan.
Washington and Central Asian Pie
In an analytical commentary on the Afghan topic, V.F. Pryakhin, professor at the MGIMO Department of Diplomacy (posted on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry), it was noted that with the withdrawal of the US and NATO military from Afghanistan, the head of American politics in the region ends that the fight against terrorism was only a pretext for the implementation of the project of dominance of the United States and the West in the space "Greater Central Asia."
Diplomat Pryakhin, quotes a specialist at Johns Hopkins University (USA): "Success in Afghanistan opens up huge opportunities - not only for Afghanistan itself, but for all of Central Asia. The United States now has a chance to help Afghanistan and the region as a whole become a safe zone of sovereign states that have opted for an effective market economy, have secular and open public administration systems and maintain positive relations with Washington. "
All this is nothing more than another generously funded scenario of the redistribution of the world. But Operation Enduring Freedom failed. The collapse of the Afghan armed forces and the fall of the government were shocking for Washington. Representatives of the White House admit that they do not know or skillfully hide what to do next.
Pryakhin believes that, in the event of complications on the border with Afghanistan, the collective CSTO rapid response forces should be enough to reflect the threats, but a pseudo-religious ideology could threaten the stability of Central Asia.
Everything like Saigon in 1975
In the history of the United States, August was repeatedly painted with events that changed both America and the fate of the whole world. In August 1945, an atomic bomb was tested. The bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and 9) followed without delay.
In August 1964, Washington began bombing North Vietnam. Donald Trump believes that the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan was the biggest humiliation that this will affect the role of the United States in international affairs, which is the worst foreign policy failure since the fall of Saigon in 1975.
August 2021 also promises change. What can these changes be?
Firstly, the US president lost his former confidence, retroactively curtailed the goals of the operation in Afghanistan, which claimed 2200 American lives, as well as the lives of 1800 people of the coalition countries. As always, he is trying to blame his predecessors. Russia and China suspect of intending to strengthen positions in the region at the expense of the West.
Secondly, an American voter, having seen the play "Evacuation in Kabul," may wonder about the very "rights and values" that the Biden White House has made the banner of its foreign policy. Democrats may lose their positions in Congress, and Biden himself may hope for a second term. The decision to withdraw troops as it was done will pursue him until the end of the presidential term. The approval rating has already dropped to 46%, it has not yet been lower.
Thirdly, the London Financial Times noted: "What happened is a strong blow to the reputation of the United States and the community of democratic states that Biden hoped to rally."
The West is on the move. In unofficial opinions on assessments, there is anxiety about US leadership. Emergency meetings of the Seven and NATO are in line.
NATO, meanwhile, does not exclude the possibility of remote attacks on terrorist groups if they try to settle again in Afghanistan. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, commenting on the results of the meeting of the alliance council. "NATO allies need to stick together because of the situation in Afghanistan, as well as in the conditions of strengthening the positions of China and Russia on the world stage," he said in an interview with CNN. "
But the most significant is the behavior of John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, when he says on camera that he did not see people falling off the plane. It was far to see. We paraphrase Mark Twain, who himself quoted the British Prime Minister and writer Benjamin Disraeli. He said: "There are three types of lies: lies, false lies and statistics (lies, damned lies and statistics)." We can say that there are lies in the world, brazen lies and there is America, from which lies of a special kind come, Washington.