Afghan security personnel at the site of a bombing in the Shakar Dara district of Kabul, May 14, 2021 (Rahmat Gul/AP)
I joined China Radio International on Monday to consider Afghanistan’s future as the Biden Administration plans to remove US troops by September 11, after almost 20 years in the country.
In the 10-minute discussion, we look beyond the Afghan Government and the Taliban at the political, economic, and social situation. We discuss the significance for the region, and we ask what the change in approach signals for US foreign policy in 2021.
See also EA on Monocle 24: Is US Abandoning Afghanistan’s People?
Biden Confirms Afghanistan Withdrawal: US Troops “Shouldn’t Be A Bargaining Chip Between Warring Parties”
We have to stop looking at Afghanistan as a single country with one leadership, and realize it’s a multi-sided contest for power.
And in the end, nobody wins — at least, not in the long term.
