Afghanistan will be a stain on the Biden presidency. His decision to continue with a US withdrawal from the country – he wants America out by the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks – reflects both the war-weariness of Washington and how Afghanistan and the ‘war on terror’ have dropped down the country’s list of strategic priorities.
The consequences of the US withdrawal are all too apparent, with the Taliban now in control of two thirds of Aghanistan. American intelligence is worried that Kabul might fall within a month. In an awful historical irony, the Taliban could once more be in control of the Afghan capital by 11 September. The New York Times reports that the US has already started negotiating with the Taliban to try and protect its embassy if the capital were to fall.
Despite all this, Biden is not going to change tack.
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