Link to Article: https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20210930-pentagon-officials-say-afghan-govt-s-collapse-was-rooted-in-2020-us-deal-with-taliban
The hasty evacuation of United States troops from Afghanistan has garnered much attention from the international community. In the United States, a Congressional Armed Services Committee drilled top United States generals on the events leading up to the hasty evacuation and subsequent collapse of the Afghan government. Commander of the United States Central Command Frank McKenzie stated that the collapse of the Afghan government started when the Trump Administration signed the Doha agreement with the Afghan government. The Trump-era agreement in which the US agreed to fully withdraw from Afghanistan by May of 2021, provided the Taliban meet several criteria. However, no productive improvement of the relationship between the Taliban and the US was made between the signing and Biden taking office in January of 2021. McKenzie stated the Doha agreement lowered Afghan troop morale, and Biden ordering a final withdrawal “was the nail in the coffin” that led to the collapse of the Afghan government. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said he advised the president to keep at least 2,500 US troops in Kabul to defend Afghanistan, however, President Biden did not heed his advice.
The explanation of the chaotic series of events in Afghanistan finally has the beginnings of an explanation. However, there are still questions to be answered by President Biden as to why General Milley’s advice for keeping 2,500 troops present in Kabul was not followed. Additionally, the extent to which the Trump Doha agreement affected the Taliban surge in power needs to be evaluated for its legitimacy; the analysis should aid state department officials in the drafting of treaties moving forward, with new information on the effects they might have. The situation is unlikely to be definitively resolved due to lawmakers pointing fingers at each side. It also seems that the collapse of the Afghan government was not predicted to happen as quickly as it did, with the France 24 article saying “defying US intelligence assessments…”. This should prompt another inquiry into the accuracy of the intelligence community in the Middle East, and possible ways to improve upon its current state.
A complete understanding of this situation requires one to use many levels of analysis. Firstly, the region of the Middle East is highly tumultuous and one must step back and look at the region and its history to understand the turmoil in the region. The Sunni-Shi’a conflict, for example, is often centered around that region, and one has to understand regional conflict to completely understand the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. Additionally, the global community also revolves around the actions of many Middle Eastern countries, and many are affected by the US’ withdrawal. It’s also possible some countries around the globe prompted the withdrawal, and not just domestic issues in the United States. The situation doesn’t involve MNCs, IGOs, or NGOs directly, but all are involved in the aftermath due to the region’s global involvement.