Withdrawal of US Troops from Afghanistan Indicates Decision To Shift Focus toward China

Published in Sankei News
(Japan) on 16 April 2021
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Dorothy Phoenix. Edited by Michelle Bisson.
President Joe Biden announced that U.S. troops in Afghanistan, who have been stationed in the country for 20 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., will be completely withdrawn by Sept. 11.

Biden explained that the U.S. has achieved its objective of preventing Afghanistan from becoming a hub for terrorist attacks on the U.S. mainland, and that while terrorist networks have spread all over the world, stationing troops in Afghanistan comes at great cost.

Biden noted that the U.S. now needs to focus on shoring up "American competitiveness to meet the stiff competition we’re facing from an increasingly assertive China," and that withdrawing troops from Afghanistan will free up resources that can be reallocated to this shifting focus toward China.

It is appropriate that Biden understands the rivalry with China as a battle between "democratic values" and "those of the autocrats."

In the 9/11 attacks, hijacked airliners crashed into and demolished skyscrapers that symbolized New York, to the shock of American citizens.

The war on terrorism demanded America’s utmost effort, but it is undeniable that engagements such as Afghanistan and the Iraq War exhausted much of its national power, a factor that allowed China's rise to power.

China continues to ignore international law, as it forcibly advances its maritime capabilities, and doubles down on censorship and the suppression of human rights. Countries that value freedom and democracy must urgently prepare to face the threat that China poses.

However, we must not become lazy in our vigilance against terrorist forces. As the COVID-19 crisis has stymied international movement, the threat of terrorism on the U.S. mainland has temporarily decreased. However, we should not assume that situation will continue for long.

In Afghanistan, which harbored the ringleaders of the terrorist attacks, anti-government Taliban stronghold areas are growing, and prospects for a stable ruling government are far off. There is concern that Afghanistan could revert to being a lair for terrorism.

At the peak of U.S. military operations, a force of 100,000 troops was stationed in Afghanistan, but currently there are only about 2,500 soldiers.

Biden declared that "it’s time to end America’s longest war," and that regardless of local security conditions, the troops will withdraw unconditionally.

In February 2020, the administration of former President Donald Trump confirmed a peace accord with the Taliban, establishing a deadline for the complete withdrawal of troops by the end of this April. In a Twitter post, a Taliban press secretary said that a "delay in American forces’ presence in the country will be seen as the violation" of the peace agreement.

The Biden administration must continue to be cautious as the troop withdrawal proceeds, in order to ensure that the Afghan government does not lose a grip on its ruling power.


米軍アフガン撤収 対中シフトの決意示した

バイデン米大統領が、アフガニスタンに駐留する米軍を米中枢同時テロから20年になる今年9月11日までに完全撤収させると表明した。

 アフガンを再び、テロ勢力による米本土攻撃の拠点にさせない目的が達成されたとし、テロネットワークが世界各地に拡散する中でアフガン駐留に、多大なコストをかけられないと説明した。

 注目すべきは、バイデン氏が「自己主張を強める中国との競争を支えなければならない」と述べ、米軍撤収で生まれる余力を対中国シフトに振り向ける考えを強調したことである。

 中国との競争を「民主主義と専制主義の戦い」と位置づけて対処しようとするバイデン氏の認識は妥当だ。

 2001年の米中枢同時テロは、ニューヨークの象徴だった超高層ビルが、ハイジャックされた旅客機の突入で崩壊するなど、米国民に大きな衝撃を与えた。

 米国はテロとの戦いに全力を挙げたが、アフガン、イラク戦争などで国力を消耗し、中国の台頭を許してしまった面は否めない。

 中国は国際法を無視して強引な海洋進出を続け、国内では人権抑圧、言論弾圧を強めている。自由と民主主義を重んじる国々が中国の脅威に備えることは急務だ。
PR

 ただし、テロ勢力への警戒は怠れない。新型コロナウイルス禍の中で人の移動が滞り、米本土へのテロの脅威は一時的に減じている。だが、それが長く続くわけもない。

 同時テロの首謀者をかくまったアフガン反政府勢力タリバンは支配地を拡大し、政府の統治は安定とはほど遠い。アフガンがテロリストの巣窟に戻る恐れはある。

 米軍はピーク時、10万人規模の兵力を駐留させていたが、今は約2500人である。

 バイデン氏は、「米史上最長の戦争を終わらせるときだ」と述べ、米軍撤収は現地の治安状況などに左右されず無条件とした。

 トランプ前政権は昨年2月、タリバンと和平合意を結んで、今年4月末を米軍の完全撤収の期限としていた。期限のずれ込みにタリバンの報道官はツイッターに「和平合意に反する」と投稿した。

 バイデン政権は、アフガン政府が統治能力を失わないよう、慎重に米軍の撤収を進めなくてはならない。
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