Speaking from the White House on Tuesday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan insisted that the United States was negotiating hard to evacuate all U.S. allies from Afghanistan.
But when Sullivan was pressed on what the U.S. would do if American allies remained on the ground in Afghanistan beyond the Aug. 31, Taliban-agreed evacuation deadline, Sullivan was stuck. He referenced “sanctions, to marshaling international condemnation and isolation,” but had no clear answer beyond that. The condemnation-isolation point is beyond absurd, as the Taliban despise the American-led international order and adore al Qaeda. In that vein, it’s far from clear that these Islamist medievalists fear Western sanctions.
This speaks to the overriding point: The Taliban now hold the cards. If the U.S. military, for all its exceptional efforts, is unable to extricate all American allies by Aug. 31, the U.S. will have few options other than to beg the Taliban for an extension.
This is not to relitigate the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. Rather, it is to point out that the chaos that has characterized the Biden administration’s withdrawal does not exist in a humanitarian vacuum. That chaos reflects a broader political impotence. President Joe Biden can say whatever he wants about remaining committed to human rights, but as far as they can be translated into Afghan action, Biden’s words mean very little. The Taliban are now proving as much. The group claims that they are allowing those who wish to leave to do so. Simultaneously, however, they are throwing up roadblocks to prevent access to Kabul airport.
Biden and Sullivan can say what they want. Reality is clear. Geographically and politically, all Afghan roads now flow through the Taliban.
