The failure of the US to establish a strong occupying state in Afghanistan, which would serve its interests in the country and its warlike conquest ambitions in that strategically important region, has been manifested in the most dramatic way during this last period. It is a failure that further testifies the inconsistency between the objectives and means of American imperialism. It attests to its relative retreat in the face of its competitors, especially its strategic rival, Russia, but also its strategic antagonist, China. A relative retreat which, since the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan, has shaped general and specific conditions within Afghanistan and in the region that have prevented the success of US plans.
However, it is also clear that “Kabul”, as US Minister of Foreign Affairs, Blinken, was quick to point out, “is not Saigon”. In Saigon, the US forces, defeated by the great national liberation revolutionary struggle of the Vietnamese people, were leaving in panic, hanging like bunches from their helicopters, while in the case of Afghanistan, the developments certainly do not have the stamp and the leading role of the popular factor. It is significant that the control of Kabul airport is in the hands of thousands of US soldiers who have been deployed and continue to shoot and murder civilians there. All this is happening despite the rapid expansion of the Taliban forces throughout the country and the seizure of Kabul by these forces. Even if Biden-Blinken's surprise at this rapid 'predominance' of the Taliban forces in this long-suffering country is, to some extent, genuine, there is no doubt that the US have engineered their military withdrawal from the country while attempting to arrange communication with these forces for future use. Talks in Qatar regarding 'the form of governance of Afghanistan', between forces of the outgoing occupation government of former President Ashraf Ghani and Taliban leaders, are already being conducted under US mediation! After all, these Taliban forces have been the spawn of the US since the 1980s, when US imperialism was attempting to respond to the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan by the socialist-imperialist USSR (1979-1989).
It is therefore clear that the US is far from giving up on controlling developments in Afghanistan and that they will use every military, economic and political opportunity they have in the region and in the country to blackmail these developments according to their own interests and aspirations. Such pursuits concern a number of critical fronts in the region, from Syria and the Persian Gulf to Iran, to undo the successes and interventions of Russian imperialism, but also to block the penetration of Chinese imperialism whose "One Belt, One Road" plan has serious objectives in the Central Asian region. At the same time, of course, the Russian presence in Afghanistan is also being strengthened, as Moscow has not only decided not to evacuate its embassy in Kabul, but - as officially announced - is also having talks with Taliban forces. The Chinese embassy also remains in operation in Kabul, and Beijing officials have already said they are seeking "friendly relations" with the Taliban.
All in all, these developments and the account of all the blood of the Afghan people over the last decades confirm, on the one hand, that the imperialists and their antagonism only bring destruction and misery to the people. They confirm that the peoples can only claim independence by relying on their own forces, that they can fight to take their destiny into their own hands.
On the other hand, these developments are clearly increasing the intensity of imperialist competition, which - with Afghanistan at the centre and the many questions that accompany the volatility of developments in that country - may provoke adventurism and aggressive moves by the imperialists in the wider region.
Our people, the peoples of the region are called upon to reject the 'many faces' of misery brought by imperialism. To fight to build their own struggle, the anti-imperialist, anti-war Peoples' Front that is imperative in our times.
Monday, August 16, 2021
The Press Office of the CPG(m-l)
