US' Afghan folly fuels terror

Switch to global cooperation only path to ensure security, experts say

Two decades of large-scale counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan finally came to an end for the United States with the hasty withdrawal of its troops from the country just 10 days before the 20th anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks.

There's more at stake for the US than merely the international embarrassment of how the chaotic exit unfolded, experts said. If the US does not seriously rethink its strategic mistakes and keeps focusing on the wrong direction, cooperation in global counterterrorism efforts will become increasingly difficult. In this scenario, terrorism will intensify and then spread around the world, the experts said.

On Sept 11, 2001, planes hijacked by al-Qaida terrorists crashed into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon near Washington, with another plunging into a Pennsylvania field, killing nearly 3,000 people in all. The perpetrators and their leader, Osama bin Laden, were at the time known to be somewhere in Afghanistan, sheltered by the Taliban forces of the country.

A month later, then-US president George W. Bush launched an invasion of Afghanistan in the name of anti-terrorism. The Taliban's forces were overwhelmed, and Kabul fell soon after.

The fight was supposed to be an opportunity for the international community to tackle the problem of terrorism together, as some major powers had established certain cooperation mechanisms.

However, with the US' deviation in its strategic focus, global governance and anti-terrorism cooperation have been dealt a big setback in recent years, said Dong Chunling, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

During the past few years, terrorism has not been contained, but has even intensified globally, he said.

Days before the US could wrap up its evacuation, the Islamic State terrorist group sent a suicide bomber to Kabul airport in an attack that killed at least 180 people in the national capital－with Afghans and US troops among the dead. Over the years, there have been terrorist attacks in Europe, Asia and other places.

"It shows that large-scale terrorist attacks have not been interrupted, and terrorism has not been reduced in the past 20 years, as a result of the so-called anti-terrorist war launched by the US," Dong said. "On the contrary, the war actually brought about a clash of civilizations."

In a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Aug 29, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the facts have proved again that the Afghanistan war never achieved the goal of eliminating terrorist forces in the country.

Hasty withdrawal

The hasty withdrawal of the US and other NATO troops is likely to offer an opportunity to terrorist groups in Afghanistan to step up their attacks, he said.

The Kabul airport attack also served as a reminder that counterterrorism is a global issue that requires the cooperation of all countries, Dong said. "The trauma caused by 9/11 is not only a tragedy for the US, but also reminds us all what a huge harm can be brought by terrorism."

The fight against terrorism requires global cooperation, not the hegemonism that the US has been pursuing, the scholar added.

Jeremi Suri, a history teacher at the University of Texas in Austin and at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, wrote in a guest column in The New York Times: "American leaders have consistently assumed that military superiority will compensate for diplomatic and political limitations.

"History is clear: We would be better off with more modest, restrained military and strategic goals. US public opinion seems to have moved in this direction, too. Our country needs to reexamine the value of military dominance."

Dong said: "The withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan has further exacerbated the insecurity of US people. They wonder if terrorism will come back? When will the next 9/11 be?"

Under such circumstances, these problems－domestic and international ones－can be solved by the US returning to the model of international cooperation and global governance, including continuing to cooperate with China, instead of seeking confrontation.

Cooperation would benefit each side, but confrontation can only cause harm, Dong said.

China is not repelling competition, but hopes that it can be a benign competitor. "It is through competition that we can make ourselves better, not to make our opponents worse," Dong said.

"A contest of domestic governance between two countries should be about who can satisfy the happiness and security of its people, who can solve the domestic problems more wisely, and whose system can gain more support and recognition from its people. This should be the essence of the competition between China and the US."

It is not in the interests of the US if it focuses only on competing with China and ignores important issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and even its relations with European allies, Dong added.

Dialogue is better than confrontation, and cooperation is better than conflict, Wang told Blinken in their phone call. He added that China will consider how to engage with the US based on its attitude toward China.

Dong said the 20th anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks should be "a very important opportunity" for the US to reconsider its policies and attitude on terrorism, global governance, and Sino-US relations.