“As for the third Official Reason: exposing Western Hypocrisy – how much more exposed can they be? Which decent human being on earth harbours any illusions about it? These are people whose histories are spongy with the blood of others. Colonialism, apartheid, slavery, ethnic cleansing, germ warfare, chemical weapons – they virtually invented it all.”
Arundhati Roy
To know how deep-rooted and insufferable Western hypocrisy is, one does not have to move beyond our immediate neighbourhood: Afghanistan. Since the withdrawal of the US and NATO troops from the country in the wake of the Taliban advance and consequent takeover, it has been shunned by the whole Western world as if it were not located on this planet but existed somewhere in outer space.
By all projections and predictions, Afghanistan is virtually on the brink of an economic collapse which will inevitably lead to a massive humanitarian tragedy. The warnings have been coming from multiple sources, including the United Nations, which have not dented the rabid Western intransigence encompassing three principal aspects: one, the USA and, quite often, the European countries, refuse to become part of an international consortium to provide immediate assistance to a beleaguered Afghanistan to meet its bare needs; two, the USA refuses to unfreeze it’s assets valued at billions of dollars which are deposited in the American banks; and three, the USA refuses to allow the banking channels to function, thus blocking the UN, EU and the world community’s efforts to transmit funds to Afghanistan. This is in spite of the fact that the United Nations and the regional countries have urged the USA to allow the transmission of aid to help the country survive the ravages of war spread over more than four decades. What does the USA want? What do the European countries want?
Peace has been a dream for the beleaguered people of Afghanistan for over 40 years. It must not be denied to them any longer. The international community and all the regional countries must wake up to the looming crisis and help avert it before it strikes with unimaginable ferocity. War not having brought peace to Afghanistan in 4o years, it is not likely to do in the next 40 either. Let’s shun the prospect of war and work collectively for the cause of peace. This remains the only way to move forward.
At this critical juncture, there are two options for the world: either engagement with the new government in Afghanistan, or its abandonment. The former option, if exercised, will help the beleaguered country survive the dread of a quick collapse and move on to fulfilling its commitments to the world. The latter option will lead to a worsening of the economic and humanitarian crises which may precipitate a law and order situation, thus plunging the country into strife and fratricide. Is this what the West is waiting for? And what will it do if such a dreadful eventuality actually takes shape and the country lapses into an existential crisis?
That renders the mind numb. While there may be issues with the way Taliban have progressed in meeting some of the international community’s expectations in terms of human rights, rights of women and formation of an inclusive government representing all stakeholders of the country, it does not merit that the entire population of Afghanistan be punished for what is not of their making. It also does not merit that their agony may prolong further at the hands of a conscious and cruel effort on the part of the developed world simply because they don’t like the faces of the Taliban ruling Afghanistan. In the process, they conveniently forget what they did with the country during more than 20 years of occupation and hoisting possibly the most corrupt governments ever in the name of democracy. When the time came for their anointed ones to take a position and resist the Taliban onslaught to save their ‘freedom’, they deserted Afghanistan carrying with them millions stacked in duffle bags.
The track record of their ignominious occupation and the reasons for its sudden collapse are laid out in the voluminous SIGAR papers, as also the ill-conceived agenda they harboured for transforming Afghanistan into a ‘modern’ state that would serve their strategic interests in this part of the world. Their ultimate exit from the country signified a dream busted and its after-effects are the issues which the Western alliance is unable to deal with leaving behind caustic reserves of frustration, anger and an urge to wreak vengeance. So, is it that Afghanistan not only suffered, it should continue to suffer to cater to their bloated egos?
Today, the world is a hostage in the grip of the neo-imperialist powers which are absolutely adamant in imposing their unequal and inequitable writ on the weaker countries, most notably from the South Asian region. This is so because they are united under the leadership of the USA to use their combined power not to allow China to emerge as the next dominant power of the world. But this is a game which they have already lost unless, of course, they would scheme to plunge the world into an Armageddon from where there would be no coming out for anyone. This madness has to stop.
One of the key clauses of the agreement the USA signed with the Taliban in Doha in February 2020 was the assurance that Afghanistan will not become a launching pad for terrorism in the world. The Taliban made this promise in return for the timeline the USA gave for withdrawal of their troops from the country. I understand that the return of terrorist activity in any form would not be a desirable phenomenon. But, how is that going to be made possible? By destabilising the government in Afghanistan? An economically weak government, be that of the Taliban or anyone else’s, will not have the wherewithal to keep the situation under control. As a matter of fact, the contrary would be true: the country will most likely plunge into chaos, thus becoming a ripe breeding ground for terrorist forces to launch their operations aimed at spreading fear and mayhem.
Already, some such activity has been owned up by terrorist groups which are still active in Afghanistan and which need to be combated and eliminated. In the event of a weak Afghan government, these terrorist outfits will not only manage to survive, but also gain further strength and relevance throughout the country. So, the very purpose of the US and NATO withdrawal would be defeated. That not being a preferred option, it is time the USA and other Western countries paid some serious attention to their current policy and take urgent steps to remodel it for the cause of peace in Afghanistan, the region and the world. If that does not happen, we are headed for chaotic times.
This stalemate cannot be allowed to drag on. It is here that the regional countries will have to take charge and start pushing things in the right direction. Afghanistan needs help. It cannot move on without this coming through. With the USA, the European countries and the veritable arms of the West including the World Bank, United Nations and a host of donor organisations unable, or unwilling, to extend help, bulk of the responsibility would fall on the shoulders of the regional countries, led by China and Russia. They will have to step forth to save the situation from deteriorating further which would, inevitably, spark off a chain reaction with one disaster leading to another that would engulf not just Afghanistan, but the whole region.
Ideally, the world should rethink its strategy regarding Afghanistan. If it does not, as is likely to happen, the regional countries should have an emergency plan ready for implementation to help Afghanistan cope with its immediate problems. The Taliban, too, have to play their role in making it possible: they will have to move quickly to ameliorate the concerns of the regional countries regarding the formation of a fully representative government and initiating all necessary steps to ensure the rights of women to education and work. Any further delay on these fronts is going to complicate matters which may precipitate a crisis that may bulge out of control.
Peace has been a dream for the beleaguered people of Afghanistan for over 40 years. It must not be denied to them any longer. The international community and all the regional countries must wake up to the looming crisis and help avert it before it strikes with unimaginable ferocity. War not having brought peace to Afghanistan in 4o years, it is not likely to do in the next 40 either. Let’s shun the prospect of war and work collectively for the cause of peace. This remains the only way to move forward.
