The Afghan withdrawal will only embolden the West’s enemies

‘How many thousands more Americans, daughters and sons, were you willing to risk?’ Biden asked critics of the decision to withdraw forces from Afghanistan last week. He has the support of the American public – most of whom also wanted to see troops leave Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting and 2,400 fatalities.

This risk aversion is one of the reasons America decided to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan. There’s a diminished appetite in the US for prolonged military involvement in the Middle East, especially large-scale deployments of ground troops that inadvertently cost lives. In the UK, the Ministry of Defence’s integrated review, which advocates reducing the size of the armed forces and concentrating on training and assistance and use of advanced technologies rather than combat, reflects a similar attitude.

Withdrawing from Afghanistan is part of a wider policy of disengagement from the Middle East. This is led by the Americans but other countries, including the UK, have been following willingly as they reprioritise against the threat from China.