Collective responsibility of the Western Alliance for Afghanistan: expensive but fair

At dawn on August 31, 2021, the last American soldier left the soil of Afghanistan. Thus ended a difficult 20-year period in history, which in the United States and NATO countries is called a peacekeeping mission and support for democracy, and the Afghans themselves call it an occupation. After thаt an independent Afghan government received a country lying in ruins, thrown back decades into the past.

The Soviet Union built more than 140 economic, social and infrastructure facilities in Afghanistan in ten years. These are roads, a tunnel to the Salang pass and bridges, gas pipelines, factories, power plants and social facilities like schools and a university. Over the twenty years of military operations in the country, the United States and NATO allies have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in the construction of only infrastructure facilities directly or indirectly related to military-political operations - these are weapons, ammunition and fuel depots, barracks and command posts, airfields and bases for heavy weapons.

Who is responsible for this?

Afghanistan has become the most stupid case of the Pentagon after the inglorious defeat in Vietnam. Despite all the talk of the leaders of Washington and the satellite countries (sorry, 39 states participated in the occupation of Afghanistan) about democracy and the war on terrorism, all the actions and statements of US and NATO officials prove that they held Kabul for 20 years only to pursue their own commercial and political interests, but even this could not be achieved. The material losses of Afghanistan from twenty years of occupation can exceed 5 trillion US dollars, only the direct damage from the destruction of infrastructure from military operations amounts to billions.

The country was thrown back into medieval chaos. 12 million young people and adults over the age of 15 lack basic literacy skills. More than 100,000 people have been killed or injured in the country since 2009, when it began systematically recording civilian casualties, according to the UN office in Afghanistan. Many of these killings are classified by the UN as war crimes, but Americans call them collateral damage.

It was a foreign and senseless war, but it was also an international business of criminal drug cartels. Since 2003, the third year of ISAF's Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan has become the world's heroin monopoly. At least 3 million Afghans were engaged in the cultivation of opium poppy, and according to the UN, in 2004, the profit from the sale of opiates amounted to US$ 2.8 billion - 60% of Afghanistan's GDP. In 2019-2021, Afghanistan's share of the global heroin market was over 90%. Opiate production has increased more than 40 times.

The drug trade came to an end, along with American advisers who flew away from Kabul and Bagram, and the president of the puppet state, Ashraf Ghani, who left several cars full of dollar bills on the runway. Last week, Afghan Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund banned the cultivation of opium poppy and the production of opiates under penalty of death. The leader of the state Mavlavi Haibatullah Akhundzada, is trying to set up a peaceful life in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, but this has to be done by starting anew almost from scratch.

What did the Americans and their allies do in this ancient country at the crossroads of East and West for all those twenty years, apart from spending on their own military needs of the US, NATO and satellites like Georgia, as well as spending on financing the Afghan army? Having spent more than $2 trillion - according to some sources, the total amount is much more, the Western coalition was unable to do almost anything to build a declared democracy.

Ruins and cemeteries

Nothing! Leaving the country in ruins and cemeteries of the victims of the occupation, Washington and the ISAF coalition washed their hands.

"The development of events in Afghanistan has become catastrophic both

th for the people of the country and for the trust in the West in the world," said Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy. The words of this European Union politician are a small step forward - it is important that Mr. Borell acknowledged both the catastrophe in Afghanistan against the backdrop of twenty years of NATO occupation, in which EU combatants were very actively involved, and the crisis of Afghan society's loyalty to the West.

But the recognition of these facts must be followed by the collective responsibility of the West, represented primarily by the countries of the European Union and the United States. This important issue also touches upon the problems of global security.

The issue of responsibility for the titanic damage inflicted by the 20-year occupation of Afghanistan is unequivocal: in Afghanistan, which is called the "graveyard of empires", non-bloc partners of the Western Alliance, like the Georgian armed forces, participated. Estonia, Latvia, Romania fought in the ISAF coalition - the burden of Afghanistan's reconstruction should be proportionally divided between all participants in the US and NATO operations Enduring Freedom and Resolute Support. World leaders like India, China and Russia, who did not take part in this armed conflict, have no compromise opinions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Afghanistan needs help to find peace and stability. He also admitted that the situation could lead to the sale of drugs and weapons. The head of state is confident that the US and NATO should bear the bulk of the costs associated with the restoration of the country. Putin urged to work with the interim Afghan government, given the catastrophic situation. According to the UN, half of the Afghans are in need of humanitarian assistance, in fact, we are talking about a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan caused by decades of war. The UN claims that within a year, Afghanistan's GDP may decrease by 20%. In the future, these figures may reach 30%.

Of course, the issue of responsibility to the peaceful Afghan population will be on the agenda for the White House and the European Commission in the near future. Unfortunately, as practice shows, with the exception of the Marshall plan to restore the post-war economy of West Germany and strengthen the foreign policy and military positions of the United States in Europe, Washington disclaims responsibility for military conflicts involving Americans in the event of defeat - this was the case in Vietnam, Yugoslavia, and so on. maybe with Afghanistan.

This is contrary to the principles of solidary global security, if after the withdrawal of the military - occupation or peacekeeping, it does not matter - the country remains in ruins with no chance of restoring the national economy. The topic of the material responsibility of Washington and Brussels to Kabul will be the topic of the next meetings of world leaders in the G7 format. This is an existential issue for all Western democracy.

Alex J. Bradley