Leave to stay. The new face of the American global empire
The New York Times revealed the Pentagon’s plans to control Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from there.
“The US military plans to leave Afghanistan no later than September 11, but the Pentagon, US intelligence agencies and Western allies are discussing how to prevent the country from becoming a terrorist base. According to the NYT, The Pentagon is discussing with its allies the transfer of troops, possibly to neighboring Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan”, – NYT writes.
If necessary, the Pentagon will launch airstrikes on Afghan militants detected by reconnaissance drones, fighters from its aircraft carriers and strategic bombers based in the countries of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean neighboring Afghanistan. The CIA predicts the return of Al-Qaeda* (banned in the Russian Federation) to Afghanistan and expects that Turkish intelligence will provide assistance in the fight against the militants of this organization.
Even if the US army leaves Afghanistan, 16 thousand fighters of international PMCs, including 6 thousand Americans, will remain here. So it is premature to talk about a complete withdrawal of troops.
The New York Times found that the Pentagon in Afghanistan actually has “1,000 more troops than it has publicly admitted”. A number of elite special forces units of the Pentagon and the CIA have been deleted from official records so as not to disturb public opinion.
Just a month ago, NYT’s forecast for the future development of events in Afghanistan was more optimistic. Sources of the newspaper in the US intelligence community believed that the government of Ashraf Ghani could hold out for two or three years before the Taliban* (banned in the Russian Federation) seized power in the country.
However, the situation changed after the Taliban announced that it did not intend to participate in the summit on a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan, which is to be held in Istanbul in late April, until all foreign troops leave the country. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urgently arrived in Kabul to calm Ghani, but only exacerbated his anxiety, saying that “the United States did not plan to stay in the country for a long time”. However, the “secret thousand” commandos discovered by NYT journalists will remain in Afghanistan anyway.
Many in America believe that the withdrawal of the American military will unleash a civil war between Islamist groups in Afghanistan. Republican Senator Lindsay Graham criticized Biden’s decision to withdraw forces from Afghanistan. Graham said,
“The result of President Biden’s decision today is to cancel some kind of insurance policy that, in my opinion, would have prevented a repeat of 9/11”.
However, Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said that Biden’s decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan gives the US military an opportunity to reorient its efforts to more pressing threats, among which he singled out China and Russia, causing “the Pentagon’s concern about its presence in the region”.
Russian military analysts suggest that the United States could transfer its troops from Afghanistan not only to Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, but also to its 26 secret military bases in Kyrgyzstan, which are compact transit points for the rapid transfer of military – Cooperative Security Location (points of the joint safety) or Lily-Pad (water lilies) in American jargon.
26 six of these American “water lilies” in Kyrgyzstan are equipped with powerful radar and reconnaissance drones. Professor David Wyne of the University of Washington considers the “Lillipads” to be the main element of the US military strategy to maintain world domination, as they “allow you to do more for less.”
The greatest risk, in his opinion, these mini-bases create, increasing tension in relations with Russia and China in the Persian Gulf, as well as in the oil-bearing regions of West and East Africa. “Lillipads” are the basis of the “Axis of Asia” military strategy announced by Barack Obama.
Kyrgyzstan does not have a common border with Afghanistan, therefore, the creation of similar transshipment points in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which have such a border, cannot be ruled out.
The “water lily” base strategy used by the Pentagon in Iraq and Afghanistan is also called the “oil spot” strategy, which is spreading in all directions, capturing more and more space.
American “military planners create for themselves the possibility of endless small-scale interventions, in which a large, geographically dispersed number of military bases will always be ready for instant operational access to any part of the planet. In other words, Pentagon officials dream of almost limitless flexibility, the ability to react with amazing speed to events anywhere on Earth and thus something approaching complete military control over the planet, ”writes Professor Wyne.
If we compare these plans of the Pentagon with the project for the construction of the Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway corridor, lobbied by the Americans, through which, as we wrote, it will be possible to quickly transfer military equipment, ammunition and fuel from Central Asia to Afghanistan, it is easy to understand that the Pentagon operates in within a well-thought-out plan to ensure a permanent military presence in the macro-region of Central Asia – South Asia – Persian Gulf.
This strategy, as old as the world, is called “leave to stay”. Moreover, to gain a foothold, strengthening its positions in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. All countries from whose territory the US military will strike at Afghan militants will become targets for retaliatory attacks.
The 20-year war that the United States is waging in Afghanistan does not end, it is changing its character.
“Forget full-scale invasions and widespread occupations on the mainland of Eurasia”, – writes The Nation Institute expert Nick Turs of the new US military strategy.
“Instead: special operations forces … proxy armies … espionage and reconnaissance … drones … cyberattacks and joint operations of the Pentagon with private military companies”.
To this should be added “unprecedented air and naval power, humanitarian missions that clearly perform military intelligence functions, the rotational deployment of regular US forces in all azimuths, the expanding range of joint military exercises and training missions that provide a de facto” presence “of American military around the world and turning foreign military forces into puppet armies. This is the new face of the American global empire.
Vladimir Prokhvatilov, Federal Grid Company