The U.S.'s primary objective in Afghanistan since 2001 has been to degrade the threat of terrorism against the United States and its allies.

That basic goal was accomplished a decade ago when the 9/11 detractors were dealt with in line with US own standards. Many followers of international politics always ask the same question: "why didn't US withdraw after accomplishing the mission set out before entering into Afghanistan?”

This question and many other questions could best be answered by US policymakers at the forefront of this conflict.

History has always been a focal reminder to conflicts of this nature. Russia fought there for ten years in the 1980s and left after realizing they couldn’t win against a Guerrilla Force on its home soil (the same thing the US went through in Vietnam).

And as Russia left, the Taliban arose again. These historical antecedents should guide all countries going into conflicts of this nature. Afghanistan is a land of high opium production, a land of controversies and that of connectivity. It is the gateway that connects West Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, and East Asia. If you want to run oil and gas from S.W. Asia to S.

Asia you would go through Afghanistan. If you want to run it from C. Asia, you would go through Afghanistan. And if you want to run it on to China’s hinterland, you would go through Afghanistan. This presupposes that the welfare of citizens of Afghanistan can only be realized by Afghans themselves and not external forces.

The participation of foreign forces in the area of nation building could only be a plus but not a priority.

Afghanistan doesn’t have a strong political leader who wants Afghanistan to have peace. Actually, not having a proper political leader who wants the good of the country and its people have been Afghanistan's problem many times throughout history.

No foreign country can draw the best of nation building policies for Afghanistan if the political leadership of the country don't want same. The problems of Afghanistan, for now, can only be solved by Afghans themselves.

They can solve their own problems if they are able to know who they are and being empathetic towards themselves. No matter how bright a policy initiated by a foreign government, it will never sustain if the political factions there are not in tuned with it.

Afghanistan has never been governable to some extent. It is more of a place than a country; The central government has been unable to extend its authority nationally for centuries. Tribes, clans, factions have always been the basis of power.

The Central Government powers are not that respected as compared to the opinions of clans or factions. The government does what it seems is legal and the clans, tribes, and factions go their way. So, the operation of the government was just a façade. Since the mid-80s they have gone from defending a Soviet invasion to being Taliban controlled to US-occupied back to soon to be Taliban controlled again. They also have no way of supporting a working government.

The government set up by the US with a parliament and President took twice or more the amount of their GDP to support. Considering the financial commitments, the leadership of the country could have found ways by which they can forge together going forward instead of carrying on with the atrocities.

The US has its own mistakes in the past, which should be left to the past. It should be left to the past because this conflict is fought on Afghan soil, not US. So no matter the challenges it could bring, the advantage can’t ever be on the side of the Afghan leadership.

The war in Afghanistan is being fought out by the Taliban in the southern part of the country and the Afghan government in the north.

The Americans have soldiers in the north to support the Afghan Army. They have been trying to negotiate a truce between the two factions for a decade and failing. There will be peace in Afghanistan when the Afghan factions want peace.

The Biden administration’s political courage lies in its refusal to be cowed by the possibility that a terrorism threat will grow in Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal. The US won’t remain in Afghanistan forever and there will be a time the American taxpayers will say: “enough is enough”.

And that day has come. As to whether the Afghan factions will find peace in themselves to live happily, ever after, is left on to them.

They need to find a way of embracing diversity and being tolerant of each other. They need to do that for the common good of the Afghan poor mother and child who has nowhere to run to.

There could be a sense in what Albert Hourani, a British-Lebanese historian who specialized in the Middle Eastern studies rightly stated that “He who rules the Near East, rules the world; and he who has interests in the world is bound to concern himself with the Near East.”

The use of “Near East” by Albert Hourani is an ancient term but however, being modernized to as the Middle East. This region has witnessed varying degrees of conflicts in modern times: the Iran-Saudi Arabia proxy conflict (2011), Iraqi Civil war (2014-2017), Yemeni Civil War (2015), Western Iran clashes (2016), Iraqi revolt against the British (1920), Sheikh Said rebellion (1925), Arab-Israeli conflict (1947 …) etc. Syria has also seen the deadliest conflict since 1989, Afghanistan being by far the most significant here.

His (Hourani) assertion of the MENA region seems to be right to a large extent considering the unending conflicts and controversies surrounding the region.

Almost all the world superpowers have had engagements with the region in one way or the other and yet, no signal of peace is assured.

The Exit Strategy

It may be in Kabul’s interest to form an alliance with the northern and eastern Taliban. And that was the suggestion by President Joe Biden when he spoke with the President of Afghanistan on phone. This revelation was made known yesterday 16 August, when Biden addressed the world regarding the developments in Afghanistan.

However, President Ashraf Ghani did the opposite by trying to hold on to complete power without having to negotiate with the Taliban as to how powers could be shared between the two forces. Ghani chose to fight in the belief that he will continue to feed on the powers of the US troops stationed in Afghanistan.

He chose to fight in the believe that Biden will extend the exit date just like he departed a bit from the previous date established by President Trump.

The US might be blamed to some extent, but not on the Exit Plan. President Biden disclosed that the US-trained 300,000 men of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, provided them with equipment and competence to hold off a Taliban takeover of the country after the US withdrew its forces. Upon all that, the Afghan troops retreated to their bases despite the billions spent on their training and equipment by the US and its allies.

I only feel great sorrow for the women and children of Afghanistan.

The Taliban victory probably means they will be returning to the 13th century when women and girls were virtually slave property and the only education comes from an ancient culture, steeped in myth and magic.

Contact the author, Abdul-Razak Lukman via email; abdulrazaklukman6@gmail.com.