What went wrong with US in Afghanistan to kneel before a local militia considered in the West a rag tag force, wielding locally made small weapons that could not have posed serious threat to the world’s most sophisticated army. Defeating a robust defense technology, how could this militia seize away all Provincial Capitals and ultimately Kabul quite swiftly and dramatically that too without any formidable resistance from a strong 0.35 million highly trained and well equipped Afghan national army ? This question has bewildered the entire world together with the questions as to why US failed to destroy her weaponry, armed arsenal choppers and armed vehicles on various air ports when she had enough time from the day of fall of Kabul till her exit from Afghanistan, from 15th to 31st August). Why the US, UK, Germany and France gave positive signals of recognizing Taliban Regime in future. The answers appear to be elusive. Soon Washington joined chorus with Russia and China to enunciate Taliban not as a terrorist outfit in United Nation Security Council that baffled many around the globe.
All of a sudden the meaning of Terrorism changed in American political dictionary. In his early statement President Bidden ostensibly seemed to be comfortable while justifying US withdrawal from Afghanistan even though his stance backed duly by Pentagon did not seem to be reconciling with Donald Trump’s proposed plan of withdrawal at one stage of time. Later he supported his decision of withdrawal by upholding that wars could not be fought forever. Have US and Taliban agreed on a secret deal? The belief that US has entered in to a secret deal with Taliban is taking roots. The Argus- eyed observers particularly in the West and Caucasus region, China and even in Pakistan are constantly putting heads together to trace the exact cause of dramatic recapture of Kabul by Taliban without a gunshot, and the swift departure of NATO forces there onwards. There is strong evidence that like Al-Qaida, Taliban too in the past was a brain child of CIA who during Benazir Bhutto’s reign in 1996 emerged on the horizon from religious madrassas in the frontier province to take over Afghanistan from the warring erstwhile Mujahideen factions and war lords. Taliban were later invaded by US in 2001. But the fact that fierce fighting with US-NATO troops for twenty long years forced US to conciliate with the ground reality that regional players like China and Russia were in the offing for a tough time to her. The political analysis of events behind the curtain is supposed to be highly suggestive of a possible secret deal between US and Taliban who had been awfully busy in peace talks over the past two years in Doha and Moscow. Understandably Russia, China and even Pakistan must be quite cognizant of the deal and have exercised their efforts only to see US withdrawal from this region that urged them throw their weight on the side of Taliban keeping in view their future interests linked to that country. In point of fact US led NATO invasion of Afghanistan twenty years back was not aimed at hunting down of Al-Qaida only but also containment of China. American presence in Afghanistan deterred Chinese economic expansion to Caucasus and Eastern Europe through Central Asia via Afghanistan. US presence in Afghanistan has given tough time to many Chinese and Russian ambitions.
The Chinese proliferative and mammoth economic progress has been the chief concern of US that has spiraled in to great game particularly in this region. Moscow’s volition to connect her to warm waters in Pakistan opening up new avenues of world trade for Russia might have been yet another vexation for Washington. Remember that Afghanistan is of late supposed to be Saudi Arabia of Lithium and her rugged mountainous terrain is a hidden treasure of gold, silver, copper, cobalt and zinc. Experts believe that future global energy is inevitably Lithium that is gradually replacing environmental polluting fuel. Future electrical cars, vehicles, electronic devices, and computer systems would not be functional without Lithium batteries. Chinese excavation and mining of large Lithium reserves in Afghanistan would not bother Washington because ultimately this mineral would reach Western markets to be used. What she would not like to see is Chinese expansion of one belt one road (OBOR) initiative taking wings in Afghanistan to further Chinese economic links into Eastern Europe. It remains highly likely that If Taliban obviates Beijing’s and Moscow’s ambitious projects somewhere in future in Afghanistan the region might experience new tug of war between Washington, Beijing, and Moscow of which Islamabad might not find it easy to remain neutral. This is why observers say that the end of battle of guns in Afghanistan perhaps, would spiral into a beginning of battle of diplomacy from now onwards for which US has apparently been successful to survive itself in the race going to begin in New Afghanistan with China and Russia on one side and the US on other side diplomatically supporting and luring Taliban to gain ground to play their game of interests. The US according to authentic reports along with UK, France, and Germany are on the way to lift ban on Afghanistan’s frozen Reserves worth billions of dollars.
Disclaimer: The views in this article are author’s own.