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

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who have been stationed in the country for 20 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., will be completely withdrawn by Sept. 11.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.