Afghanistan on the Edge: Foreign Policy Analysis of America's Retreat from the Graveyard of Empires | JULY 2021 EDITION
Podcast
About this episode
Attempting to make sense of the ongoing chaos in Kabul in the aftermath of Washington's announcement that it would be fully withdrawing its armed forces from Afghanistan.
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Watch via Video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNImHZNodTk
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Overview:
The United States Armed Forces are scheduled to be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the 31st of August 2021, concluding Operation Freedom's Sentinel and NATO's Resolute Support Mission.
The U.S. and allied forces invaded and occupied the country in 2001 following the September 11th 2001 attacks, with the subsequent war becoming the U.S.'s longest military engagement surpassing even that then its War in Vietnam in the 20th century.
On the 29th of February 2020, the U.S. and the Taliban signed a peace agreement titled the "Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan", with provisions including the withdrawal of all regular American and NATO troops from Afghanistan, a Taliban pledge to prevent al-Qaeda from operating in areas under Taliban control, and talks between the Taliban and the Afghan Government based in Kabul. The deal was supported by China, Pakistan, and Russia, and unanimously endorsed by the United Nations Security Council.
The Trump Administration agreed to an initial reduction of its force level from 13,000 to a total of 8,600 by July 2020, which would then be followed by a full withdrawal by the 1st of May 2021. This was contingent on if the Taliban kept its previously stated commitments.
The Biden Administration announced in April 2021 that it would continue the withdrawal beyond the initial deadline, with an expected completion date by the 11th of September 2021. This deadline would mark the 20th anniversary of the previously mentioned attacks that had been the initial casus belli for the U.S. / NATO Coalition Forces.
The Biden Administration later announced that despite the withdrawal, it would keep 650 U.S. troops in Afghanistan to defend the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and defend the Hamid Karzai International Airport alongside Turkish troops. On the 8th of July, Biden shifted the U.S. withdrawal deadline to 31 August. Despite all of this, the Department of Defense stated that the U.S. will continue airstrikes on Taliban. More content on this is to follow as the circumstances of this story continue to evolve.
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Recommended Resources:
"Mapping the advance of the Taliban in Afghanistan" | https://news.yahoo.com/mapping-advance-taliban-afghanistan-230108412.html
"Biden to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by September 11" | https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/13/biden-to-withdraw-us-troops-from-afghanistan-by-september-11
"THE AFGHANISTAN PAPERS: A secret history of the war" | https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/
"Origins of the Taliban" | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzBVvyBWDD4
"Afghanistan sits on $3 trillion in minerals" | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9pOQioOEGg
"China's Strategic Assessment of Afghanistan" | https://warontherocks.com/2020/04/chinas-strategic-assessment-of-afghanistan/
"Turkey's Erdogan says Taliban should end "occupation" in Afghanistan" | https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkeys-erdogan-says-taliban-should-end-occupation-afghanistan-2021-07-19/
"US weighs attacks if Kabul at risk of falling to Taliban: Report" | https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/10/us-weighs-strikes-if-kabul-at-risk-of-falling-to-taliban-report
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