POST-US AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan could easily become the battleground for regional powers trying to safeguard their respective interests in the country, writes Riyaz Wani

- Riyaz Wani

“We have won the war and America has lost,” said a Taliban military leader to the BBC after the US president Joe Biden announced that the 2500 US forces remaining in Afghanistan would be coming home by the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks that led to the US invasion in 2001. “We are ready for anything. We are totally prepared for peace, and we are fully prepared for jihad,” Taliban commander Haji Hikmat is quoted to have said by the channel.

Haji’s words are certain to resonate across the world. No matter, which way you slice the outcome of the war in Afghanistan, the truth is the US has miserably failed to achieve the objectives of its military campaign and met the fate of its predecessor in the country, the USSR.

Though the US is currently engaged in a peace process with the Taliban that is geared to get the latter to share political power in the country, it has now become increasingly uncertain that this will happen. War in all likelihood will grind on. Having been the victors – both perceived and the real – of the war, the Taliban is unlikely to settle for less than complete control of the country. Whether this happens or not is still in the realm of speculation. Yes, the US will certainly try and prevent an outright Taliban takeover or delay it as long as possible, but it looks unlikely that after the exit, the US will be able to steer the situation in Kabul in a way that always protects its interests. The militia has already said in a statement it would not participate in any conference about Afghanistan’s future until all “foreign forces” have departed – albeit it has now decided to attend the US-backed ten-day summit in Turkey.

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