Conflict and Peace

A state cannot be built from outside, with a foreign army standing on top of it to supervise the process, argues Dennis Sammut in this commentary. As the EU expands its global ambitions, it must be aware of the risks of "mission creep" and make sure the mistakes in Afghanistan are not repeated.

A hint of what is going on is contained in a story ran by the international news agency, The Associated Press (AP). The agency reported that the Taliban do not plan to make any decisions or announcements about the upcoming government until after the August 31 US withdrawal date passes.

In a statement marking Afghan independence day, the Taliban said that "Fortunately, today we are celebrating the anniversary of independence from Britain. We at the same time as a result of our jihadi resistance forced another arrogant power of the world, the United States, to fail and retreat from our holy territory of Afghanistan".

Whilst Taliban fighters made themselves at home at the presidential office in Kabul, and in other government offices across the capital, the leadership of the Taliban appears to be still concentrated in the city of Kandahar, in the South of the country, the power base of this mainly Pashtun movement. It was to there that the Taliban’s co-founder and political leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, flew to from Doha on Tuesday as the militants pledged peaceful relations with other countries and respect for the rights of women.

In Ethiopia's Tigray region fighting has resumed between government forces and the local Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forces. On Friday (13 August), government forces took control of Maychew and Ambalagie, which are both strategic towns in the southern part of Tigray. The government forces are reportedly also planning to advance towards the region's capital, Mekelle.

During the cold war, the slogan "Yankee Go Home" was often seen or heard in many third world countries fighting against US domination. It is ironic that fifty years later, there are those in Kabul who are now shouting "Yankee come back". For many young Afghans the US presence had opened the possibility of a new way of life. At least in Kabul many are sad to see the Americans go. But as president Biden made it clear yesterday, there is no going back. American attempts at state-building in Afghanistan are over, and that has widespread consequences that are yet to fully unfold.

Several fighters from both the Yemeni government and the Houthi movement were killed on Sunday (15 August) as clashes renewed on the Yemeni western province of Hodeidah. The province is the focus of the Stockholm agreement signed in 2018 and established a ceasefire in the province.