THE RULING US Democratic Party, led by President Biden, was yesterday being pressed by its NATO allies to delay the US rapid retreat (rout) from Afghanistan due on August 31. The US is getting out after its massively equipped and expertly trained Afghan army, costing the USA some $85bn, collapsed without a fight in the face of the Taliban!
PM Johnson and Co want to try to lighten the deadly implications of this historic defeat by persuading the US to agree more time for evacuating those opponents of the Taliban who still want to flee to the US, UK and the EU.
The Taliban have, however, warned there will be ‘consequences’ if foreign forces remain after the 31st August deadline agreed with the US, especially since there is now no Afghan army to do their fighting for them.
The UK is appealing to Biden to change his tune and reverse his decision. The US has evacuated, and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 48,000 people since an intense airlift started on 14 August, the White House said.
The moment of truth for US imperialism came last week when President Biden announced that the US was getting out by the 31 August. He was denounced by ex President Trump – who began the negotiations over the withdrawal agreement with the Taliban.
Trump condemned Biden despite the fact that some 85 billion dollars had been pumped into Afghanistan to build up a pro-US, massively equipped army to beat the Taliban. This massive army, with the most modern and deadly equipment, collapsed and refused to fight when the time came to confront the Taliban army head-on. The Taliban now have all the equipment needed for a very powerful army in their possession, thanks to the USA.
The country’s president, Ashraf Ghani, saw the debacle coming and beat the US and Biden to the punch. Just before the Taliban entered Kabul he fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash, according to the Russian embassy in Kabul.
He got the message when the US and NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan in recent weeks after 20 years of fighting the Taliban, leaving his government and his new army to face them alone.
The pace of the Taliban onslaught surprised the Afghan government and its US and Western allies. They entered Kabul virtually unopposed with the Afghan army refusing to fight, leaving the Taliban with billions of dollars of military equipment.
This was the debacle that Trump and Biden organised.
France, Germany and the UK are now pressing for Biden to keep US troops in Afghanistan beyond the 31 August and to continue the war. France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in the United Arab Emirates: ‘We are concerned about the deadline set by the United States on August 31. Additional time is needed to complete ongoing operations.’
Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said he had discussed keeping Kabul airport open beyond the deadline with NATO allies and the Taliban.
Yesterday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to push the US for an extension of the occupation during the virtual summit with other G7 leaders. Beforehand, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had said a deal would depend on both the US and the Taliban.
Military advisers however told the White House that a decision must be made by Tuesday (yesterday) in order to allow the troops, along with their equipment and weapons, to leave in time for the deadline.
Yesterday’s emergency Human Rights Council session had a draft resolution submitted by Pakistan asking the UN human rights chief to keep an eye on things, and report back in December.
The Trump/Biden-organised defeat in Afghanistan marks the moment when the US’ leading role as the major imperialist power, marshalling its weaker UK and EU allies, ended for ever. The victory of the Taliban and the collapse of the US trained and equipped Afghan army, and the crisis in the imperialist ranks as a result of the US failure marks a new stage in the development of the world socialist revolution, which includes the revolt of the oppressed nations.
The imperialist powers can no longer rely on US imperialism to even partially defend their interests. The US faces its own massive economic and political crisis at home as well as the challenge of the Chinese deformed workers state with its rapidly growing economic and political power.
Now is the time to build sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in every country to lead the struggle to replace decrepit capitalism and imperialism with the victory of the world socialist revolution.
