The consequences of colonialism

Be it in Vietnam or in Afghanistan, American wars have sought some imperial achievements, but seldom produced beneficial results. Neither did the people of the targeted countries hail the invasions, nor did the citizens of the US itself ultimately feel proud of achieving anything. US President Joe Biden has now defended his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, despite the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country. In a rather blunt manner, he admitted that the US mission “was never supposed to be about nation-building”. While the collapse of the Afghan government amid the Taliban’s rapid advance has flummoxed many observers, the blatant way in which the US ditched the people of Afghanistan raises serious questions. Why do imperial powers leave a mess behind, whenever and from wherever they leave? They clutch their prey with claws as long as they can and then deliberately throw the victim into a chaotic quagmire.

In the 21st century, the US invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, intervened in Syria, and pretended not to bother when Libya and Yemen descended into chaos. And this pattern has nearly been the same from Bush and Obama through to Trump and now Biden. They never regretted their decisions. It all reflects a certain apathy towards the plight of their subjugated countries or nations. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the US never showed any interest in Afghanistan for nearly 10 years. When the time came in 2001 for an invasion, there were no signs of considering the fact that no Afghan national was involved in the 9/11 attacks. The Iraq invasion again caused millions of displaced and hundreds of thousands of casualties, but there was no remorse in sight, even after it became evident that the stories about the so-called ‘weapons of mass destruction’ were baseless.

And American imperialism even in the face of so much violence and chaos ‘squarely stands by their decisions’ – with impunity. No court of justice calls them to the dock, no tallies of crimes dangle from their necks. But comeuppance has its ways, and history makes its judgments. Imperial adventures leave behind them chaotic scenes and desperate people. If their task was not ‘nation-building’, what on earth were they doing for 20 years in Afghanistan? Will this question haunt Americans? Even that is up for debate, given the short-term memory the West has when it comes to the Global South. It is essential that the US and the West at least lead the world in helping the refugees who will pour out of Afghanistan. After all that has happened, after all that the Afghan people have been made to suffer, the world must unite to ensure that the refugees are given all the support and help that they need no matter how much effort this may demand.