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14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 AUGUST 2021 NEWS BACK in 2001, regime change in Afghanistan was celebrated in the west as the overthrow of a repressive, misogynis- tic regime which made the world shudder after blowing to smithereens the Buddhas of Baminyan, amidst horrific re- ports of stonings and behead- ings. It was the Taliban's refusal to hand over 9-11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden which gave US President George W. Bush the pretext to attack Afghani- stan in retribution to the attack on the Twin Towers. On that count, the war against terror failed in its target. Bin Laden was only killed in 2011, in a US ground invasion on a com- pound in Pakistan in 2011. But the six-week airstrike campaign in Afghanistan had served as a prequel for the more devastating invasion of Iraq, which proved lucrative for private military contractors and ended up destabilising an entire region for decades to come. For what proved difficult in the both wars, was not the oust- ing of a despicable regime, but the task of restoring the peace. While the disintegration of the Taliban forces by American 'shock and awe' gave an illu- sion of a quick success, the task of building new political insti- tutions proved elusive against a Taliban-led insurgency, which ultimately triumphed the mo- ment the US left the country to its own devices. Meltdown For it was the swiftness of this disintegration which took many by surprise exposing the complete dependency of the post 2001 Afghan state on the US war machine. For while the Taliban's participation in a fu- ture interim government fol- lowing more rounds of negoti- ations was widely expected, the quick meltdown of the Afghan army was not. Biden who himself last week declared that Afghans 'must fight for themselves' ended up recognising that the collapse "did unfold more quickly than anticipated." This sudden meltdown en- sured that the Taliban would gain power in the absence of any solid guarantees over crucial matters like women's rights and the security of mil- lions of Afghans branded as collaborators for working with foreign occupiers. This failure strengthens the case for inter- national responsibility for the fate of those fleeing the Talib- an regime. Was it all in vain? Despite this major setback the US may well have achieved its primary aim: that of ensur- ing that the Taliban will not harbour terrorists with designs to harm it. This was achieved through direct negotiations in Qatar commenced under Don- ald Trump with Joe Biden fol- lowing through with the with- drawal of troops. By engaging in direct talks, the US gave the Taliban the recognition it still denies to groups like Hamas. But this also comes as a re- alisation that diplomacy may be more effective then war in preventing terrorism. And yet it was achieved at the cost of emboldening the Taliban to restore their archaic brand of Islam and reverse the few pos- itive changes made in the past two decades. For the fall of the Taliban re- gime in 2001 did bring about significant progress in terms of women's rights and education. Back in 2001, there was not a single girl enrolled in a second- ary school and only 9,000 were at primary schools. By 2017, The cost of war in Afghanistan and border areas in Pakistan Insurgent deaths 84,191 Civilian deaths 78,314 Afghan military/police 75,971 US/allied military deaths 3,586 Taliban blowback: from friend to foe to power-brokers 20 years after 9-11, the Taliban are back in power as the Afghan national army disintegrated soon after the withdrawal of US forces. Has the war been all in vain? asks James Debono Left: women from the first graduating class of the Afghan National Army Female Officer Candidate School stand for the playing of the national anthem during their graduation ceremony, Sept. 23, 2010 U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/STAFF SGT. LAURA R. MCFARLANE/RELEASED Below: Afghan citizens go to the polls to exercise their constitutional right to vote in presidential and provincial council elections in 2009 Norwegian soldiers run during a gun battle in Kabul, April 2012 after the Taliban launched a series of coordinated attacks targeting NATO bases, the parliament and Western embassies MUSADEQ SADEQ/FLICKR