The empire of the 21st century, the U.S., decided to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, the now so-called graveyard of the empire. The US started a war against Afghanistan in October 2001, intending to overthrow the Taliban regime which had supported the main culprits of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden; the war ended in August 2021 with the Taliban’s victory. One might think that the United States had achieved its intended goal in that it succeeded in killing Osama bin Laden. However, 10 years after Osama bin Laden’s death in 2011, the U.S. considered that its aims for Afghanistan were not being achieved despite huge investments. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that the war between the U.S. and the Taliban ended unfavorably for the United States.

Several complex issues influenced the decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan. Among them, the key causes were ‘the incompetence of the government of the Republic of Afghanistan’ and ‘critical public opinion in the economic aspect’. As President Joe Biden noted in a speech, an astronomical amount of $1 trillion was spent on aid, but the government of Afghanistan only mismanaged the resources received. An example of this was reported in an article in the New York Times (NYT), an American media outlet: According to a report submitted to Congress by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the number of Afghan soldiers receiving wages as of April 2021 was reported to be 300,699. However, the NYT pointed out that the number of Afghan forces was highly inflated, so, in reality, it was only one-sixth. The Afghan government received more subsidies from the U.S. than they actually needed and used them for their own self-interests. Also, the NYT said, “Afghan military officers are well aware that the actual number of troops is much smaller than the number on the books, so no matter what happens, they often ignore it without responding,” which demonstrated the incompetence and corruption of the Afghan government.

The criticism of economic aspects in the United States was also a key cause. This was also a problem caused by the incompetence of the corrupt Afghan government. Despite huge US investment, the government of Afghanistan was guilty of mismanagement and economic inefficiency. The economic might of the U. S. has deteriorated significantly due to the wars started under the George W. Bush administration. Faced with an increase in defense spending due to the Iraq War, a recession due to the 2008 economic crisis, and the emergence of a new hegemonic power, China, the U. S. no longer has the financial capacity to spend like before to maintain the Afghan government. Thus, given the fact that the Afghan government failed to produce any satisfactory results, the Biden government made the bold decision to withdraw US troops and stop supporting Afghan government forces.

The war between the U. S. and the Taliban in Afghanistan ended in such a way that did not stop with the fact that the U.S. was defeated. The Taliban’s return to power also means that the freedom of life that the Afghan people had previously enjoyed is now oppressed and is being destroyed by extreme Islamic doctrines. It is indeed difficult to believe that the same level of freedom as other liberal countries will be guaranteed given the strictures of previous Taliban policies. The lives of the people of Afghanistan following the establishment of a new government by the U.S. were clearly better than before the war; however, now that the Taliban regime has begun to rule Afghanistan again, it is evident that their freedoms are now being curtailed, and the Afghan people are living a life of oppression as before. In fact, even though the Taliban promised to respect women’s rights after coming to power, they soon began to take extreme steps, including executing female protesters or shooting women on the streets for not wearing burqas. In the case of the Afghan women’s soccer team, the Australian government helped evacuate the players after the Taliban threatened their lives just because the women were engaged in sports. The Taliban is being condemned by the international community for not only enforcing such extreme policies toward women but also for violating various human rights by interfering in the lives of ordinary citizens.

The U. S. decided to end the war that had lasted for nearly 20 years. Its political impact on the Central Asian region will be immeasurable and resulting changes in the international situation involving countries such as China, Russia, Pakistan, and India seem inevitable. However, the human rights abuse taking place within Afghanistan is something that needs to be paid close attention to. In the 21st century, when universal values such as freedom and human rights are recognized as crucial, it is a tragedy for the whole of humankind that such reprehensible behavior is taking place in Afghanistan. To stop such tragedies from occurring, this article concludes with the hope that the human rights violations by the Taliban regime can be stopped as soon as possible.