Five years ago, Taliban forces captured Kabul without a fight and declared control over all of Afghanistan. Before this, pro-American President Ashraf Ghani and the US military ingloriously fled the country.

Thus ended Washington’s nearly 20-year military adventure. This year, the US plans to withdraw troops from Iraq as well.

Analysts say Washington’s string of failed military interventions has destabilized the region and undermined the United States’ reputation.

The Fall of Kabul

On August 15, 2021, Taliban forces entered the Afghan capital, Kabul. The city was captured without a fight, the US-backed government army had effectively ceased to exist by that point.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Following this humiliation, the Taliban declared full control of the country, changed the name of the state to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and adopted a new flag.

By the time Kabul fell, pro-American President Ashraf Ghani had already fled the country. The Russian Embassy in Afghanistan reported at the time that he had fled on a helicopter loaded with cash.

$169 million of US taxpayers’ dollars disappears

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Tajikistan, Muhammad Zohir Aghbar, clarified that the former president had stolen $169 million from the state treasury.

Even earlier, the US Army, which had occupied part of Afghanistan since 2001, had hastily abandoned the country. The Pentagon didn’t even have time to evacuate military equipment; much had to be abandoned or destroyed on the spot.

The $7 billion parting gift: thanks, taxpayers

The most significant media coverage was the Taliban’s acquisition of American military equipment, which Washington had supplied to Afghan government forces. According to a Pentagon report, the Taliban possessed weapons stockpiles worth over $7 billion. 

The abandoned weapons and equipment included aircraft, air-to-ground ammunition, various weapons, communications equipment and other property. 

Most shameful day

The Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan was widely perceived as a major military and political defeat for the United States.

Donald Trump, who had lost the presidential election to Joe Biden the previous year, called the withdrawal from Afghanistan the ‘most shameful’ day in the country’s history.

Many commentators also drew parallels with the evacuation of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War.

The US failed in Afghanistan.

They wanted to install a government loyal to them, relying on specific Afghan politicians. Nothing came of it. Their protégés became mired in corruption and, at a critical moment, fled the country in disgrace.

Just as the American military itself fled. The US failed to prevent the Taliban from coming to power. Now the Taliban is firmly entrenched in Afghanistan. So, this is, of course, a failure of US policy,’

The Domino Effect

Another long-running US military adventure may end this year. According to the Associated Press, the Pentagon intends to withdraw all troops from Iraq by September 30.

Donald Trump previously stated that American troops are no longer ‘needed’ there. The Pentagon later clarified that the troop withdrawal will be completed in accordance with the 2024 agreement ending the mission against terrorists.

The United States invaded Iraq in 2003, using fabricated information about Baghdad’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction.

Public Hanging

The overthrow of Saddam Hussein and his public hanging plunged the country into chaos.

A bloody conflict between Shiites and Sunnis erupted in Iraq. By 2006, more than half a million Iraqis had died as a result of the US aggression and its consequences, according to a report in the journal Lancet.

ISIS

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, it was the US invasion of Iraq that led to the creation of the terrorist group ISIS*. Interestingly, former US President Barack Obama also reached the same conclusion.

Another unforeseen consequence of the attack on Iraq for Washington was the strengthening of Iran’s influence in the country.

3.8 million dead

This was largely due to religious factors: Iraq has a large Shiite population. Previously, during the regime of Saddam Hussein, the two countries were bitter enemies.

In total, according to research by the Costs of War project, Washington’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as military interventions in Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan, since 2001 have resulted in the deaths of more than 940,000 people.

These figures do not include deaths caused by the aftermath of war, the destruction of the economy, infrastructure, and healthcare system. If these factors are taken into account, the total death toll could reach 3.8 million.

‘Chaos, instability and civil war’

One of the most vocal critics of the US’s endless wars abroad has been current President Donald Trump.

Ending military interventions was one of his campaign promises. During his first term, he declared that ‘the decision to go into the Middle East was a huge mistake.’ 

Americans want peace

‘It was part of the election campaign. He captured the mood of American voters.

Various factors are pushing the US toward military action, including the interests of big business and the military-industrial complex,’ Elena Suponina believes.

Analysts believe that a series of US failures in the Middle East has undermined Washington’s reputation in the region.

‘The United States has long been viewed extremely negatively by Middle Eastern countries.

This is gradually becoming a global trend, but if we’re talking about the Middle East, the US has developed an extremely negative image there after all these wars,’ says Omar Nessar. Let readers know what you think

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