Afghanere dør i forsøget på at blive evakueret, Kabul, 16. august 2021; Fotos: Tolo News

Flere i min nære omgangskreds er på med ‘#PrayforAfghanistan’, men lige på det punkt er jeg iskold. Ifølge en Pew-undersøgelse ønsker 99 procent af afghanerne sharia, og selvom en del af andre årsager undsiger Taliban-bevægelsen, så stikker det tilsyneladende ikke så dybt. 1000 Taliban-krigere indtog idag Kabul uden kamp.

Her en tale Joe Biden holdt den 8. juli, for blot fem uger siden. Det første er bekvemme efterrationaliseringer, det sidste er intet andet end varm luft.

“As I said in April, the United States did what we went to do in Afghanistan: to get the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and to deliver justice to Osama Bin Laden, and to degrade the terrorist threat to keep Afghanistan from becoming a base from which attacks could be continued against the United States. We achieved those objectives. That’s why we went.

We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build. And it’s the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country.

Together, with our NATO Allies and partners, we have trained and equipped over three hu- — nearly 300,000 current serving members of the military — of the Afghan National Security Force, and many beyond that who are no longer serving. Add to that, hundreds of thousands more Afghan National Defense and Security Forces trained over the last two decades.

We provided our Afghan partners with all the tools — let me emphasize: all the tools, training, and equipment of any modern military. We provided advanced weaponry. And we’re going to continue to provide funding and equipment. And we’ll ensure they have the capacity to maintain their air force.”

[…]

Q : Is a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan now inevitable?

THE PRESIDENT: No, it is not.

Q: Why?

THE PRESIDENT: Because you — the Afghan troops have 300,000 well-equipped — as well-equipped as any army in the world — and an air force against something like 75,000 Taliban. It is not inevitable.