Until Sunday, Europe considered US President Joe Biden an expert on foreign policy, but his decision to withdraw troops “allowed Afghanistan to collapse into the arms of Taliban fighters”, Politico writes
The paper notes that across Europe, officials have reacted to the aftermath of Biden’s decision with a mixture of mistrust and feelings of betrayal. Even those who had previously welcomed his election as US president and believed he could ease tensions in transatlantic relations now believe Biden has made a “mistake of historic proportions”.
“I say this with a heavy heart and horror at what is happening, but the early withdrawal was a serious and far-reaching miscalculation by the current administration. It has done fundamental damage to the political and moral authority of the West”, – Norbert Rettgen, chairman of the German parliament’s foreign relations committee, told Politico.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been careful to avoid publicly criticising Biden, whom she has known for decades. However, German media reported that the politician, in a meeting with her party officials, called the situation in Afghanistan “a bitter experience for those who believed in democracy and freedom”.
“Afghanistan is the biggest foreign policy disaster since Suez. We need to think again about how we treat our friends, who matters and how we protect our interests”, – Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the British parliament’s foreign affairs committee, wrote on Twitter.
In April 2021, Biden decided to withdraw the US contingent from Afghanistan, which provoked Taliban activity, which successively began taking over provincial centres, reaching as far as the presidential palace. According to New Delhi analysts, the withdrawal from Afghanistan was the latest chapter of failed United States interventions.