The 20-year war in Afghanistan ended with the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the return of the Taliban to power, leaving behind a devastated country and suffering people.
Analysts pointed out that the United States under the banner of “counter-terrorism” launched this war, afghanistan has brought incalculable harm, but also let the United States itself paid a heavy price, can be said to be harmful.
Afghanistan is suffering
Twenty years on, the war in Afghanistan has left only the locals with pain.
“Afghanistan is the second country after Vietnam to withdraw after the failure of U.S. forces,” Afghan political analyst Mohammad Daneshjo told reporters. Afghans are disappointed in the United States because they have left behind only war, destruction and poverty. ”
During the 20-year military campaign, U.S. forces have caused enormous loss of life and property in Afghanistan. More than 30,000 civilians have been killed or killed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and more than 60,000 civilians have been wounded and some 11 million have become refugees. Between 2016 and 2020, about 1,600 Afghan children were killed and wounded in NATO-led air strikes, according to Action on Armed Violence. Years of war have led to the collapse of Afghanistan’s economy, with some 72 per cent of the population living below the poverty line and unemployment at 38 per cent.
In addition, Zhu Yongxuan, director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at Lanzhou University, pointed out that U.S. forces often break into homes, raid and even shoot civilians during military operations, causing huge psychological trauma to the local population.
Over the years, the security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated, and the U.S. military has been caught up in an increasingly anti-Vietnamese cycle on the ground. Analysts believe that for their own interests, the United States in Afghanistan to support some extremist forces or armed factions to counter other forces. It is this policy pursued by the United States that has led to an unabated increase in the number of extremist groups in Afghanistan.
As the long-running war draws to a close, the U.S. military is still creating chaos and casualties. 16, Kabul International Airport once out of control, many people rushed onto the runway, and even climbed on the U.S. military aircraft taking off. To disperse the crowd, U.S. forces opened fire, killing several people.
“Twenty years have passed since the United States launched war on Afghanistan under the pretext of ‘counter-terrorism’, and it has still not brought peace to Afghanistan,” Kabul resident Mohammad Nawaz told reporters. If the United States were sincere in ending the war and achieving peace, we would not see this chaos at the airport. ”
America harms elves
The United States itself has been rebuffed by the war in Afghanistan, not only because of heavy military casualties, but also at great economic cost, and the resulting political shadow will continue to hang over the United States.
U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Milley said Wednesday that 2,448 U.S. troops were killed and 20,722 wounded in the war in Afghanistan, and many more were traumatized by the war. According to a study by Brown University, the United States has spent about $2.26 trillion on the war in Afghanistan over the past two decades, equivalent to spending more than $300 million a day. According to U.S. media reports, the U.S. has spent about $300 billion on the care of war-disabled service members, and is expected to spend about $500 billion in the future.
Brown University’s research also shows that the war waged by the United States after the September 11 terrorist attacks led to the erosion of basic political rights on american soil and in warring countries. The U.S. government’s tax cuts, along with borrowing trillions of dollars to cover war spending, may continue to exacerbate inequality in American society.
Stephen Walter, a professor of international politics at Harvard University, has previously written in Foreign Policy magazine that the link between America’s “imperial adventures” abroad and instability at home cannot be ignored. He said the Release of Militarism, increased executive power, xenophobia, pseudo-patriotism and incitement by the United States in “endless wars” abroad run counter to the civic morality on which a sound democracy depends.
On the diplomatic front, the way the U.S. ended the war has been deeply disappointing to allies, and Recent comments in the Western media and academics about the negative impact of the “Kabul moment” on the U.S. diplomatic reputation have been overwhelming. Robin Wright, a New Yorker columnist, says that after this failure, it will be difficult for the United States to mobilize allies in such operations.
Analysts say the war in Afghanistan has taught the U.S. a profound lesson: U.S. military power is limited, and U.S. forces can win local battles but still lose the entire war.
