On October 12, 2022, the Washington administration published the new national security strategy document with the signature of United States (US) President Joe Biden.[1] One of the most wondered issues regarding the document is what kind of strategy will be carried out regarding the future of the Afghanistan policy of the US. Because Afghanistan is a country located in the heart of the world geopolitically.
This situation has caused the actors, who have claimed to be a global power throughout history, to be closely interested in Afghanistan. Afghanistan, which was the battleground of the “Great Game” that took place between the Great British Empire and the Russian Tsardom in the 19th century, nowadays stands out as the field where the “New Great Game” is staged. Because the country is one of the most strategic places in the world, as it provides Central Asia-South Asia-Middle East connectivity.
The US, on the other hand, withdrew from Afghanistan by ending the twenty-year occupation, which was called “Operation Enduring Freedom”, as of August 31, 2021. However, it continues its air operations in the country within the framework of the claim of fighting terrorism. For this reason, there are question marks about the future of the Biden administration’s Afghanistan policy. At the point of answering these questions, it is expected that the document will form an opinion.
First of all, it should be stated that the main focus of the document is not Afghanistan. The text which is drawing attention to the importance of global challenges mainly focuses on China, which the US defines as the “biggest threat” to maintain its hegemony, and Russia, which it considers in the context of “traditional threats”. On the other hand, Afghanistan is discussed in two different parts of the document.
The first of these is under the title of “Modernization and Strengthening of Our Army.” In this section, the Biden administration states that the US maintains its goal of combating terrorism and states that they have won the long-lasting war in Afghanistan. In this framework, the Washington administration emphasizes that it attaches importance to military modernization to maintain its capacity in the fight against terrorism.[2] On the other hand, the White House also gives the message that it will continue its influence in Afghanistan by expressing the need for American leadership all over the world.[3]
The second part which focuses on Afghanistan is the part of the document titled terrorism. The text, which asserts that terrorism stems from two reasons: geography and ideology, claims that the effectiveness of terrorist organizations Al-Qaeda and DAESH continues in wide geography stretching from Iraq to Afghanistan (Middle East-South Asia line) and the text attributes an important duty to the US in the fight against these terrorist organizations.
However, it is stated that the Washington administration is aware of its global responsibilities; it is also noteworthy to underline the cooperation with the allies.[4] Therefore, the Biden administration also considers the financial burden of cross-border operations, just like Donald Trump. This is the main reason for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Because the economic costs have made the war unsustainable. Therefore, it is possible to say that the Washington administration, which wants to maintain its global leadership, wants to share tasks with its allies and will try to maintain its influence at the lowest cost.
Reminding that the goal of neutralizing the leader of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, and critical organization leaders were achieved a long time ago, and as well as the document expressed the US confidence in its counterterrorism capabilities, document also talks about the murder of the last leader of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri. On this occasion, the Washington administration expresses that they care about making Afghanistan a safe country. The point that draws attention here is the sentence that the Taliban will be ensured to stick to their commitments in the Doha Treaty.[5] In addition, the absence of a critical approach to the Taliban in the document is another detail that should not be overlooked.
To look at the issue from a more terminological perspective, the processes defined as the “war on terror” under George W. Bush,[6] “counterterrorism” under Barack Obama,[7] and “war against jihadist terrorists” under Trump”[8] and in this document described as “fight against terrorism.” In addition, the effort to identify “Islam and terrorism” observed during the Bush era was abandoned together with Obama; however, when it is remembered that Trump’s emphasis on “Jihadist radicals”, it can be said that Biden also displayed an approach close to Obama. Naturally, in this case, Bush and Trump are Republicans; the effect of Obama and Biden being Democrats is undeniable. However, in the new period, it is possible to say that the US is not going to bring Afghanistan to the forefront in the context of the arguments that trigger Islamophobia.
At this point, it is necessary to return to the fact that the US did not use a criticizing statement regarding the Taliban. It is known that on October 8, 2022, the US delegation met with the Taliban officials in Doha. This meeting, in addition to being the first face-to-face contact after the killing of Zawahiri, took place in the shadow of the US demand to expand travel restrictions on Taliban leaders and the Afghan Fund discussions.[9] This indicates that the US is aware of the need to sit at the negotiating table despite everything, and therefore can accept see the Taliban as a reality of Afghanistan. The first sign of this was given on September 29, 2022, by the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West’s statement that he supported talks with the Taliban.[10] Therefore, both the document and the latest developments in the US-Taliban line in the region reveal that the Washington administration, which focuses on China, the main other in the global power struggle, and its traditional rival, Russia, will remove the Afghan Problem from its primary agenda.
As a result, the US’s National Security Strategy Document dated 12 October 2022 states that the Washington administration wants to maintain its operational capacity against Al-Qaeda and DEASH terrorist organizations within the framework of the alleged fight against terrorism in Afghanistan; however, it reveals that it has not closed the doors of dialogue to the Taliban. In this context, it is possible to foresee that the US will try to improve its military relations with the regional states within the scope of counter-terrorism operations. Regarding the Taliban, the Washington administration gave the message that it would focus on fulfilling the commitments in the Doha Treaty.
[1] “National Security Strategy”, White House, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Biden-Harris-Administrations-National-Security-Strategy-10.2022.pdf, (Date of Accession: 14.10.2022).
[2] “National Security Strategy”, op. cit., p. 20.
[3] Ibid
[4] “National Security Strategy”, op. cit., p. 30.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Sales of the President of the United States, The National Security Strategy of the United States of America, September 2002, p. 3
[7] Sales of the President of the United States, National Security Strategy, May 2010, p. 4
[8] National Security Strategy of the United States of Americai December 2017, p. 10
[9] “First on CNN: Top US officials hold first in-person meeting with the Taliban since the US killed al Qaeda’s leader in July”, CNN, https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/08/politics/us-taliban-talks-wasiq-qatar/index.html, (Date of Accession: 14.10.2022).
[10] H. Andrew Schwartz, “A Conversation with Thomas West in the Context of Afghanistan One Year Later”, CSIS, https://www.csis.org/analysis/conversation-thomas-west-context-afghanistan-one-year-later, (Date of Accession: 14.10.2022).
