USA Democratization And Military Failure In Afghanistan

By Munashe Mverechena, Christian Muzoriwa

International relations students at Africa University

As tempting as it may be to think that promoting democracy in occupied foreign countries especially in third world countries is morally justified and an effective way to restore security and stability, especially the United States As by superpower, it is not so. Political reforms are most successful when they come from local societies and political cultures, but with political cultures such as the Taliban being believed and demonstrated, is there anything that is attainable??? As students of international relations, it is the theory of realism that best explains such matters.

In Africa at large and not only in Afghanistan, international organizations such as the United Nations, along with some non-profit and independent humanitarian agencies, have spent millions if not billions of dollars and worked countless hours trying to build or enforce Western democracy. Write the constitution, impose restrictions and bill of rights and build the politics of a new society.

US military intervention in Afghanistan was initially justified by the need to eliminate immediate and serious threats to national security by al-Qaeda and the fear of weapons of mass destruction.

However, these short-term goals were replaced by the long-term goal of deterring future threats from these countries, such as new extremist groups such as the Taliban, which continued to grow and strengthen over time. This has prompted the United States, along with other countries, to attempt to annex the country and provide stability and security so that the people of Afghanistan set up their own governments that were influenced by their ‘democraticization’ form.

The question I keep asking myself, “Was to really go to war for 20 years just to come back with wounded soldiers and leave the state trying to ‘heal’ a worse situation than you found? Was doing?” Worse in the sense that they now have to start over from where they were 20 years ago and re-establish everything the US had set out to do. I mean there is no interest in Afghanistan, no oil, no gold, no diamond but spending where they now had to budget billions for building infrastructure, millions for their army and for weapons. Of course, we cannot ignore the early successes of this war which were new schools, hospitals, public facilities, a pro-Western government that had just been dealt with, allowing women to join the workforce and even the political sphere. were allowed to participate in, girls could go to school and even the rise of free media.

From the very beginning they knew that this war would never be won militarily and that only a truce agreement could end the conflict. Even after the successful ouster of Osama bin Laden in 2011, the US did not withdraw its forces and the Taliban only strengthened, causing heavy losses to Afghan security forces. Forcing states to embrace and adopt democratic practices could lead to political instability, conflict, and a decline in civilian security, as seen in the latest developments in the aftermath of America’s withdrawal.

The deal signed in 2020 between the Trump administration and the Taliban did not include any mechanisms to implement Taliban commitments, but the Afghan government’s exclusion from the deal strained its relations with the United States. When Joe Biden announced a military withdrawal in Afghanistan in August 2021, most would agree that the United States had been extremely unsuccessful in Afghanistan, with the majority supporting the decision, but whether it would be beneficial to the citizens of Afghanistan. was the best decision? Yes, the United States was militarily defeated in this war, but their decision was not the right one given the influence or the state the country is in after the Taliban morally took power.

However, the withdrawal of the United States imposed significant costs for Afghan citizens. The Taliban have shown their willingness to engage in widespread violations of basic human rights, especially those of women, after announcing the creation of a new political order called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan is likely to cause great suffering in the years to come, which will be difficult to eradicate. However, even a hypothetical decision to remain in Afghanistan would entail considerable moral costs as well as monetary costs for the United States. This decision would have remained a threat to American troops. As students of international relations, we tried to understand how ethical reasoning can be applied in such cases.

Many philosophers are against the idea that one can provide the best judgment and yet be considered immoral. Immanuel Kant, believed that this approach was fundamentally in conflict with the goals of ethics, which are to tell people what to do.