In August 2021, the United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan with great fiasco. At the same time, some questions remain. One of those is the large scale troops’ deployment to this country in the first place and secondly, why they stayed there for such a long time, that is for 20 years.
It is easier to answer the first question as the United States once started the war which was provoked by the world’s leading terrorist, Osama bin Laden. And although the latter was found and killed in neighboring to Afghanistan country – Pakistan in 2011, both US and Allied forces remained in Afghanistan still for another ten years. The aim was to turn a country and nation with a complex ethnic composition and a peculiar Islamic religious background into a Western democracy. To sum it up, the goal was a new nation building, through new state arrangements change the mentality of the people, to introduce the Western style democracy. The same general scheme of regime change was in process at the same time in another Islamic country, in Iraq.
Remarkably, US foreign policy historically has been in general isolationist throughout several hundred years of its existence. Although, the United States participated (albeit reluctantly) in both world wars of the last century, most international relations analysts, political scientists, and historians believe that World War II marked the birth of America, which started to intervene in world affairs. Thus, the United States participated in the Korean War in 1950-1953, in Vietnam in 1959-1975. Military involvement took place in Grenada in 1983 and in Nicaragua in 1989. These are not the only international armed interventions by the United States in the 20th century, but they are certainly the most memorable, impressive.
Without going into the details of the above given examples, it is important to give a short explanation for American and Allied forces’ failure in Afghanistan.
When the US military entered Afghanistan in 2001, that country had become “Forgotten Afghanistan” in post-Soviet failed war. Nobody in international terms wanted to think and deal with Afghanistan in 1990s.
The Taliban government in power, itself pursued a more or less total isolationist policy. The made exceptions only to some people of similar militant religious ideas. Accordingly they allowed to enter and stay in the country a number of terrorist groups to hold training camps. Afghanistan became like “Disneyland of Terrorism”. In the conditions of long-term foreign and civil war, the so-called “Kalashnikov Culture” developed. All kinds of weapons were available.
The people living in Afghanistan lacked and still do not have any kind unifying identity. The term “the Afghan” was not and is not bringing people of the country together. Rather, it is an extended family, a village, an ethnicity, a tribe – that the individuals recognize first and foremost. When the Taliban was in power from 1996 to 2001, the real capital of the country was not Kabul – but in Pashtu principal town – Kandahar, where various ministries were located. The head of state, Mullah Omar, could visit Kabul sometimes once a year.
The outside world was unfamiliar to the Taliban regime. Nor did they want other people (from other religions, states, international organizations) enter their own country. It was Afghanistan that implemented a kind of isolationism, while the United States had abandoned it.
In terms of ethnicity, Afghanistan was and is a unique one. The largest ethnic group is the Pashtuns, most of whom live in neighboring Pakistan. The situation is the same with the Tajiks. Most Tajiks are not located in an independent country called the Republic of Tajikistan, but in Afghanistan. There are also many Uzbeks and many other ethnic groups in Afghanistan. It seems as if the borders of nation-states have been confusedly introduced when Afghanistan became a state within it modern boundaries.
The prevailing religion in Afghanistan is again unusual. It is Islam, but different in localities, relatively primitive and with all kinds of influences from ancient Iran (Persia), India, etc. The influence of Islam is precisely delegated into power and a rather primitive command-like comprehension of soul and real life was and is carried out. Provincial clergy may even be illiterate. They have received their so-called “education” in Pakistan, where everything necessary, guidelines for their activities – basics in faith, ideas of loyalty and commitment, rituals, directives and punishments – have been memorized.
Bringing Western democracy to such a diverse country has been fundamentally pointless from the beginning and thus logically ended in a great fiasco. Though, the worst might be in sight, and this is again war, this time civil war.