fall of Kabul

A conversation about the last 20 years in Afghanistan.

“They have handed our country the way you hand over a book or a bottle of water... We were happy for the war to end, but we didn’t expect the end to be like this.”

Despite the intention to refocus U.S. energy and attention on the Asia-Pacific, difficult questions remain as to the benefits for U.S. China policy.

After the fall of Kabul, there will be an element of doubt surrounding U.S. commitments in the Indo-Pacific.

The impact of Taliban rule on the country's security situation is unclear, but is likely to be less marked than in the 1980s and 1990s.

The haphazard withdrawal will likely reinforce long-standing queries about the strength of U.S. commitments in the region.

While the disaster unfolding in Afghanistan will have many negative consequences, it will not by itself cause the end of U.S. strategic pre-eminence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The war in Vietnam showed the abject failure of nation-building – and the imperial logic behind such efforts. But the U.S. repeated its mistake in Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his U.S. counterpart that China is willing to help promote the soft landing of the Afghan issue” and avoid “humanitarian disaster.”

Afghanistan and Taiwan have few parallels, but Taipei can still draw some important lessons from the tragic fall of Kabul.

For Afghan women, the threat from the Taliban is very real.

The Taliban’s promises cannot be trusted. China knows this, but it has few good options.