KARACHI:
The graveyard of empires has yet again lived up to its reputation. Historical patterns, contemporary political undercurrents, and the American tendency to indulge in foreign policy fiascos have all manifested in what was inevitable — an inglorious US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The analogy that can be drawn between the Afghan milieu and the Vietnam predicament is both demoralising and worrisome for the US establishment.
Following in the footsteps of Nixon, the US bid to seek yet another decent interval showcases the magnanimity and continuity of the state’s failure in realising its foreign policy ends. Despite a protracted realpolitik gamble, Afghanistan seems as stuck in time as it was prior to the US invasion. With the balance of power shifting in favour of the Taliban and their antagonism with the Afghan government aggravating, momentary stability, let alone perpetual peace, seems a distant concept. Prospects of a debilitating civil war are enveloping the Afghan horizon, with circumstances suggesting that the Taliban are gaining authority. Whether that authority is met by legitimacy at large remains a subject for future analysis.
However, what is certain is that the US will be joining the likes of Great Britain and the USSR in the ranks of the mammoths whose foreign intervention coupled with the associated national interests were abated by the unique systemic nuances that have continued to encapsulate Afghanistan at an intra-state level. Afghanistan is a country where history is often mirrored and the recent surfacing of the prospects of a new Great Game ensuing in the region are thus coming off as no surprise.
Sunaina Tahir
Rawalpindi
Published in The Express Tribune, July 13th, 2021.
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