Our picks: AfghanistanWill Afghanistan, Again, Become a Cradle for Jihadism? | The Narrative of America in Retreat Is False | Budding Resistance to the Taliban, and more
· The Real Reason U.S. Allies Are Upset About Afghanistan
· The Narrative of America in Retreat Is False
· U.S. Credibility Not Seriously Damaged by Afghanistan Failure
· Inside the Hidden War Between the Taliban and ISIS
· Airport Attack Underscores How the Taliban Could Fail
· The Taliban Are Far Closer to the Islamic State Than They Claim
· America’s Flight from Afghanistan Will Embolden Jihadists Around the World
· Budding Resistance to the Taliban Faces Long Odds
· What Chance Does the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan Have against the Taliban?
· Son of Legendary Afghan Commander Seeks “Settlement” Over Last Anti-Taliban Stronghold
· 72 Hours at Camp David: Inside Biden’s Lagging Response to the Fall of Afghanistan
· Afghanistan, Again, Becomes a Cradle for Jihadism—and Al Qaeda
The Real Reason U.S. Allies Are Upset About Afghanistan (By Stephen M. Walt, Foreign Policy)
The anger is real—but anguished humanitarianism is just part of it.
The Narrative of America in Retreat Is False (Jeffrey Hornung, CNN)
Commentary in China’s government-run newspaper Global Times argues that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan “dealt a heavy blow to the credibility and reliability of the US.” Another article by the same paper argues that American actions in Afghanistan are not the first time the US has abandoned its “allies and so-called alliances.”
Strategic competitors like China benefit from such narratives, as they suggest the US will not or cannot live up to its security commitments. That argument, however, doesn’t hold up, as the reasons for America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and the rationales for other US commitments are vastly different.
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None of this is meant to laud or criticize the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan; rather, it is a caution on what lessons one draws from that decision. Contrary to what China and other nations may think, US withdrawal is not some kind of omen for the fate of Taiwan or any US treaty ally. Nor does the withdrawal carry any widespread message about America’s reliability or credibility.
The United States is a nation — backed by a deep bench of very capable allies — which sees that it is in its vital interest to deter autocrats from adventurism and challenges to the world order. Drawing lessons from the narrow case of Afghanistan to speak about broad US resolve or credibility comes with an inherent risk that adversaries may choose to ignore at their own peril.
U.S. Credibility Not Seriously Damaged by Afghanistan Failure (Ted Galen Carpenter, National Interest)
Adversaries of America and NATO are wondering whether the failed mission in Afghanistan will translate into failed attempts to defend other allies across the globe. (Cont.)
