Taliban's Shelling of U.S. Embassy Poses Dilemma for U.S.' Mideast Strategy

On September 14 Beijing time, the Taliban in Afghanistan bombed the U.S. Embassy, NATO’s headquarters and the Afghanistan Intelligence Agency in Kabul (on Sept. 13 local time). The serial attacks caused six deaths and 15 injuries. Analysts think that the attack, after the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, increased the difficulty of America’s decisions on its Middle East strategy.

Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid revealed on Sept. 13 that a combat team armed with rocket propelled grenades, suicide bomb vests and AK-47 assault rifles attacked Kabul’s embassy and western districts. From a tall building near the embassy district, they launched rocket shells at multiple targets, including the U.S. Embassy and NATO’s headquarters. After that, Afghanistan security forces and the militants exchanged fire for over three hours. The same day, two suicide attacks happened in the western district of Kabul; the targets were the police station and military facilities.

The AFP commented that if all the above attacks were indeed done by the Taliban, this would be the Taliban’s most ambitious raid.

It is said that although Taliban members had attacked Kabul before, such serial terrorist attacks using human bombs and rocket shells in different districts were new. Some media analyzed that this was the Taliban’s extremists “showing muscles” to the U.S.; the timing they chose was near the 10th anniversary of 9/11, which seems like a “belated gift” for America. Regarding this, when interviewed by a China News Service reporter, the dean of the West Asia and Africa research office in the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, Li Weijian, expressed that the U.S. rethought the world situation and its own national strategies, and made the decision to gradually retreat from the Middle East. Afghanistan’s Taliban hopes to seize the opportunity to expand its influence and force the U.S. to let go as soon as possible, while increasing their own pull when negotiating with Afghanistan’s government.

About this, Reuters reported that the U.S. agreed with the Taliban’s establishment of the Doha Office. Li Weijian thinks that this is a reflection of America’s antiterrorism strategy changing over the long term. Different from completely destructive tactics against terrorism, like the Taliban in the early period after 9/11, the new tactic the U.S. is taking is to fight on the one hand and negotiate on the other hand, to try to win over the Taliban’s moderate faction and weaken the Taliban’s strength. However, the marginalized Taliban didn’t want to give in, so they took action and showed their strength to the U.S. and Afghan governments.

Li Weijian thought that this action by the Taliban didn’t only bomb the U.S. Embassy, but also shelled America’s Middle East strategy. It not only makes the effect of America’s war on terror doubtful, but also makes it hard for the U.S. army to make a decision on retreat.