Matthew Karnitschnig, Politico EU
BERLIN — Until Sunday, Europe thought Joe Biden was an expert on foreign policy.
John Allen Gay, National Interest
The moral stain of Afghanistan's chaos does splatter us. Yet continuing the conflict had moral costs of its own. Withdrawal critics have often ignored or downplayed these costs, but thanks to the withdrawal, these are costs the United States will no longer pay.
Shyam Saran, IE
Shyam Saran writes: Remembrance can be a prelude to healing from a tragedy, to foster a determination among people to never allow the tragedy to repeat itself, but it can also be used to reopen old wounds and reignite ugly passions.
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Daniel Fried, Atlantic Council
The August 15 images of helicopters lifting fleeing diplomats from the US embassy in Kabul—like those of a similar calamity in Saigon in April 1975—will weigh on the United States. US President Joe Biden had dismissed the possibility of such a scenario just weeks ago, which suggests that neither he nor his administration understood the situation on the ground. Although the decision to pull out of Afghanistan was defensible (though questionable), the United States executed that decision poorly... Читать дальше...
Ido Vock, New Statesman
As migration linked to conflict and climate change escalates, the EU will need to rethink its approach to refugees.
Brahma Chellaney, Project Syndicate
The unraveling of the effort to build a democratic, secular Afghanistan will pose a far greater threat to the free world than Syria's meltdown. The Taliban's absolute power and links to global jihadism will sooner or later threaten US security interests at home and abroad.
David Patrikarakos, Spectator
'Everyone is getting out - and fast', the man tells me over a crackling line. He is tired, clearly subdued. A UN staff member, he was in Afghanistan until very recently and is still trying to process what happened. 'We knew this was going to happen,' he continues, 'but everyone was caught by surprise at the speed of the Taliban advance.'
Vanda Felbab-Brown, Foreign Affairs
Part of the problem was delusional thinking. Afghan politicians persuaded themselves that the United States would never leave, ignoring repeated signals from the Obama administration, the Trump administration, and the Biden administration that Washington wanted out of Afghanistan. Beguiled by their own narratives of Afghanistan as the fulcrum of a presumed new Great Game between the United States, China, and Russia, Afghan leaders believed they could entangle... Читать дальше...
Alyona Getmanchuk, AC
The dramatic recent events in Afghanistan have stunned international audiences and sent shock waves around the globe. Many analysts are now predicting that the collapse of the US-backed Afghan government will have far-reaching geopolitical repercussions for many years to come.
William Kristol, The Bulwark
We have an obligation to begin thinking about how to mitigate the horrors that will take place within Afghanistan.
Malala Yousafzai, New York Times
Nicole Narea, Vox
It's poor repayment for their years of service to the US government.
Francesca Mannocchi & Alessio Romenzi, Newlines
Afghans scrambled from all corners of the country to their capital as a superpower quit the scene. Inside the weeks of chaos and fear before America's disastrous departure
James Jay Carafano, 1945
Before President Joe Biden addressed the nation on the crisis in Afghanistan, someone should have reminded him of the adage "When you are in a deep hole, stop digging." Because on top of his strategic failures in Afghanistan, he has now made a massive political misjudgment.
Max Boot, Council on Foreign Relations
A reporter asked U.S. President Joe Biden in July whether a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was inevitable. "No, it is not," he said, pointing to the presence of three hundred thousand "well-equipped" Afghan security personnel.
John McLaughlin, Ozy
Among the many questions in the aftermath of the Taliban's victory in Afghanistan, two stand out: How and why did the Afghan security forces collapse so quickly and will the U.S. withdrawal lead to a resurgence of terrorism there?
Mark Galeotti, MT
For observers in Ukraine, which looks to the US as a key ally in its undeclared seven-year war with Russia, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan represents a particularly ominous sight. There has been considerable disquiet in Kyiv over President Biden's unwavering commitment to the withdrawal of US forces, despite mounting evidence pointing to the catastrophic consequences of this pullout for American prestige and for the people of Afghanistan.
Ben Caspit, Al Monitor
Israel seems determined to focus on the opportunities that could stem from the Afghan crisis, such as a wake-up call to its American allies.
