Although the US withdrawal from Afghanistan was catastrophic, it was a shame for Europe. For all these 20 years, without any agency, they have been just following in the footsteps of the White House, and now they have to prepare for a completely different world of the future in which there is no credit for the US umbrella.
Apart from the United States, two other nuclear powers, France and Britain, plus Germany, one of the world’s largest economies, could not even imagine that they could stay in Afghanistan for a minute longer than the United States. All the troops in Afghanistan have left before the United States, and it is said that the last group to withdraw its troops and personnel before the United States is Britain.
Poland, a key member of NATO, suspended all evacuation flights from Afghanistan a week before the August 31 deadline. The other members followed more or less the same procedure.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, made this clear in his speech to Parliament last week: “The world in the battle to support and defend the United States cannot continue without its logistical support and the support of its air force (its presence in Afghanistan).” By “world” he means, of course, Britain and the Western allies of the United States.
It should be noted that in addition to the North Atlantic Allies, other countries, including Australia and New Zealand, have also played a major role in sending troops to US bases in West Asia. In fact, Johnson points to two points; The first is that the operation was entirely at the behest of the United States and in support of that country, and the second is that Europe is not capable of continuing it alone that is, there is no security justification or material possibilities.
The image of a completely powerless and ineffective Europe is even worse than the American scandal. The United States did not even consult with its main ally, Britain, which is constantly proud of having “special relations” with the United States. All this confirms that Europe is now a second-hand and uncharacteristic actor.
In fact, Europe’s fears of abandonment by the United States, which began with Trump, have never been allayed, despite initial optimism about Biden. Biden did in practice what Trump was saying. In a poll of citizens of 11 NATO member states, the prevailing view is that NATO troops should not go to war in favor of a member in a US-Russian conflict. This shows the loss of confidence in the US security umbrella over Europe.
The participation of the Europeans in the US-led counterterrorism project was in fact an investment in exploiting the US security umbrella. In practice, they were not interested in taking risks. But now, as Donald Trump has made clear, they cannot count on the unequivocal support of the United States especially as Russia is gaining power in Europe.
Trump, who himself signed the US withdrawal agreement with the Taliban, told Biden that his administration in Afghanistan was “the biggest humiliation in US foreign policy in history.”