Biden’s foreign policy regarding Afghanistan. 

Written on 22/08/2024

The war between the United States of America and Afghanistan endured for 20 years, only ending when current President Joe Biden pulled the last American forces out of the country in 2021. This manoeuvre is one of the most infamous of the foreign policy decisions that have occurred under Biden’s presidential tenure, receiving praise due to its necessity and criticism due to the way in which it was carried out. This situation was emblematic of how contemporary US foreign policy should be carried out, as it was reflective of the attitudes of the nation as a whole instead of partisan values. This position will be proven through analysis of the context that led to the Afghanistan withdrawal, the degree to which the withdrawal aligned with former president Donald Trump’s foreign policy around Afghanistan, how the withdrawal was carried out, and reactions to the withdrawal. Through elaboration of these factors further clarity can be achieved regarding the reasoning behind Biden’s foreign policy decision, the way in which this decision reflects US foreign policy, and the quality of the decision as a foreign policy action  

The US - Afghan war started on October 7, 2001. The conflict was a direct response to the terrorist attacks on September 11 of the same year. The fallout of 9/11 resulted in rhetoric claiming that, “a fundamental transformation in American foreign policy” was imminent due to the significance of this event. (Mcinnes, 2003, P.169) Even at the infancy of the conflict, this transformation can be seen by George Bush Jr’s reference toward the forthcoming conflict as a “war on terror” with the primary adversaries of the United States being the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, who were being sheltered within Afghanistan by the political leaders at the time - the Taliban. This implicated a new form of conflict, in which a state is engaged in warfare with extremist organisations instead of other states. Despite this, after starting their campaign in Afghanistan it quickly became the United States' apparent goal to replace the Taliban regime to punish them for sheltering Al Qaeda and to scare other states away from sheltering terrorists. (Mcinnes, 2003, P.169) Although they were removed from power early in the American invasion, from the moment the Americans left in 2021 the Taliban were able to easily re-establish themselves as political leaders of Afghanistan. This has left many critics asking why America kept themselves in the conflict for so long, with criticism even being levied at the initial decision to stay in Afghanistan after removing the Taliban from Kabul. This notion is summarised by the “outrageous arrogance and incredible naivete” of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and secretary of defence Rumsfeld, with these pitfalls in the American political leaders at the time leading to the continuation of the invasion. (Adolph, 2021, P. 10.) The strategic-narrative argument is one explanation for why the Americans stayed in Afghanistan throughout the Obama administration and the Trump administration. This argument frames the discourse around terrorism (both domestically and internationally) as a highly contentious topic throughout the late 2000s and the 2010s. Due to this, “concerns about looking soft and not measuring up to narrative standards shaped the decisions of both President Barack Obama and Trump (early in his term) to stay engaged militarily.” (William Waldorf Jr, 2022, P. 95.) This context is necessary to consider, as it depicts US foreign policy toward Afghanistan throughout the 21st century as a reaction to public sentiment towards the issue of terrorism, with Obama and Trump both opting to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan at the beginning of their presidential terms. It was only throughout the second half of Trump's term and the beginning of Biden’s term when an attitude shift toward Afghanistan became apparent. (William Waldorf Jr, 2022, P. 96.) This suggests partisanship is a weak justification for Biden’s withdrawal, as the attitude toward Afghanistan under his administration aligned with decisions of Trump over those made under the Obama administration.

Former President Donald Trump was recorded asking Senator Lindsey Graham in 2017, “How does this end?” in relation to a heated debate about sending more troops to Afghanistan. (William Waldorf Jr, 2022, P. 95.) 2017 saw comprehensive discussion led by Trump regarding America’s presence in Afghanistan in which, “despite Trump's strong preference to stop the war, Trump’s advisors convinced him not to withdraw from the conflict.” (McHugh, 2023, P. 567) Eventually, it was the Trump presidency that saw the beginning of the end for the conflict, with the 2020 Doha agreement between the US and the Taliban starting a gradual reduction of American forces within Afghanistan. This resulted in only 2,500 soldiers remaining in the nation at the end of Trump's presidency. (McHugh, 2023, P. 567) The withdrawal from Afghanistan was completed on August 21st, 2021, some 20 years after the inception of the conflict. It was President Joe Biden from the Democrat party that completed Trump’s manoeuvres, as, “the withdrawal represented a culmination of a process begun by Trump in the latter half of his term.” (McHugh, 2023, P. 566) Biden’s decision was surprising in that, “the expectation went, he would bring back the United States’ pursuit of political and military pre-eminence designed to reshape the world in its own image.” (Shifrinson, Wertheim, 2021, P. 1) Furthermore, Trump’s actions were largely disagreed upon by his advisors and the decisions of previous Presidents seemed to indicate it was the politically “safe” idea to remain in Afghanistan. However, applying the strategic-narrative theory to this situation does help to explain Biden’s alignment with Trump’s decision, as, “In recent years, narrative measures show that as the severity and frequency of terrorist attacks receded, the anti-terrorism narrative also lost policy salience… the national sense of purpose in Afghanistan waned, creating political space for Trump to decrease troops and for Biden to end the war entirely.” (William Waldorf Jr, 2022, P. 95.) Another perspective is that Biden’s decision to continue what the Trump administration had started was formed through recognition that, “the interventions it (The US) carried out in various countries and its inability to declare a decisive victory pulled the USA into a detrimental stalemate. Therefore, it can be said Washington wants to get out of this deadlock by withdrawing from Afghanistan.” (Seker, Taslicali Koc, 2023, 544) This is a factor that justifies both Trump’s initial eagerness to withdraw and Biden’s decision to continue the withdrawal process, as America’s involvement within Afghanistan had long been criticised due to a combination of its lack of feasible benefits and the cost of maintaining such a conflict. 

Biden justified the withdrawal from Afghanistan by asserting that the goals of the conflict - to eliminate the terrorists who attacked America on 9/11, to bring Osama Bin-Laden to justice and to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a terrorist base - had been achieved to an extent in which American presence in Afghanistan was no longer needed. (Seker, Taslicali Koc, 2023, 547) Biden’s decision was emblematic of a wealth of foreign policy experience. He has been on the side of realist moderation in situations such as the 1991 Gulf War, which he voted against participating in, yet also on the side of liberal expansionist agendas, supporting the 2003 Iraq invasion and hoping that it would, “put Iraq on the path to pluralistic and democratic society.”  (Shifrinson, Wertheim, 2021, P. 2) Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan is aligned with the principles of realism, as the overarching Afghanistan situation has displayed that, “although his predecessor, Donald Trump, gave voice to similar impulses, it is Biden who offers a more coherent version of pragmatic realism.” (Shifrinson, Wertheim, 2021, P. 1). This can be proven through several factors, primarily, Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was justified by his position that doing so would advance the interests of the United States. This can be seen by the decisions alignment with the will of the U.S. public as opposed to the will of the Pentagon and U.S. foreign policy experts. (Shifrinson, Wertheim, 2021, P. 3) It can also be justified through the fact that the conflict, “conservatively cost the American people over 2 trillion dollars.” (Adolph, 2021, P. 12) This reasoning directly aligns under realism, as through this theory the progression of the state’s needs - not what elites within the state want - is a paramount objective. Furthermore, Biden asserted that once the withdrawal had been complete, it was “for the Afghan people alone” to decide how they wanted to be governed. (Shifrinson, Wertheim, 2021, P. 1) This mindset has been proven true through the rise of the Taliban after the withdrawal and America’s lack of intervention. Biden’s disinterest in building a democracy within Afghanistan further solidifies his actions within a realist perspective, as it displays an “America first” mindset within foreign policy. This “America first” mindset can be summarised by the assessment that Biden has, “always regarded US security as the paramount basis of foreign policy and has been willing to reassess how to advance American interests in light of new conditions and stubborn realities.” (Shifrinson, Wertheim, 2021, P. 3) This notion of new conditions that Biden has had to adapt to also supports the strategic-narrative theory, as it highlights Biden’s ability to align foreign policy with the shifting perception of what is deemed important within America.

Ironically, one of the biggest critics of Biden’s decision was Donald Trump. Despite his foreign policy decisions being the crucial beginnings of Biden’s withdrawal, Trump was openly critical of the withdrawal at a 2021 rally, labelling it as the greatest foreign policy humiliation in US history and a surrender. (McHugh, 2023, P. 566) Trump’s commentary on the withdrawal was revitalised in the 2024 presidential debate between him and Biden’s Vice President, Kamala Harris. During the debate, Trump asserted that the decision was a reflection of the weakness of the white house under the Biden administration. (Bradner, 2024) This criticism, along with the majority of criticism levied against the withdrawal, was focused on the manner in which the withdrawal was carried out, not the concept of withdrawing itself. According to the department of defence, $7.12 billion dollars of military equipment was left in Afghanistan due to the haste in which final stages of the withdrawal were carried out. (Smith, 2022) Furthermore, the final day of the withdrawal saw, “a huge airlift that cost the lives of 13 US troops and left behind thousands of Afghans and hundreds of Americans still seeking an escape from Taliban rule.” (Ali, Stuart, 2021) This situation resulted in US marine general Frank Mckenzie using the word “heartbreak” in a debriefing with the pentagon to describe the withdrawal, as he was adamant that the American military were not able to help everyone that wanted to leave Afghanistan. (Ali, Stuart, 2021) The rushed manner of the withdrawal definitely warranted much of the criticism it received from predominantly right-wing analysts and politicians, yet this does not negate the fact that withdrawing from Afghanistan, “was always going to be ugly, whenever, and however it was done.” (Adolph, 2021, P. 12) Furthermore, it was “a difficult, but necessary call” made by Biden to stop a war that had no reason to continue. (Adolph, 2021, P. 12) It is also important to note that the reasons Biden had for withdrawing from Afghanistan - to eliminate the terrorists who attacked America on 9/11, to bring Osama Bin-Laden to justice and to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a terrorist base - do not entirely align with the actions of the American military throughout the conflict. As previously mentioned, it was a goal of the US to install a permanent replacement government within Afghanistan, and although Biden did assert that he was confident the government in place upon the withdrawal would be able to fend off the Taliban (Seker, Taslicali Koc, 2023, P. 547.), history has shown that this was not even mildly close to being the case. This further legitimises the strategic narrative theory that the cultural discussion around terrorism within American society had decreased to a point in which Biden was able to justify escaping the pointless mess of the Afghanistan conflict. The reasons Biden outlined were nowhere near as relevant as the public sentiment around the issue. Regardless of the manner in which it was carried out, the decision to withdraw was made through applying the needs of America as a whole.

Foreign policy toward Afghanistan throughout the 21st century has consistently emulated public sentiment toward the threat of terrorists that are associated with the region. Biden’s decision to withdraw the American military from Afghanistan was undoubtedly a good one, even if its execution was far from perfect. The conflict was costing American taxpayers a lot of money, it had no foreseeable ending that would greatly benefit America, and it is arguable that regardless of public sentiment, it was a foolish decision for America to elongate the invasion in the first place. Foreign policy of a country should reflect the desires of said country's constituents. This is a mindset that Biden did uphold throughout his tenure, and it is a mindset that should be continued by whoever takes up the mantle next. 

Bibliography.

References

Adolph, R. B. (2021). Why America Lost the War in Afghanistan: A Requiem Essay. Atlantisch Perspectief, 45(5), 9–13. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48638262

Bradner, E., John, A., Strauss, D., Klein, B., & Krieg, G. (2024, September 11). Takeaways from the ABC presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. CNN; CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/10/politics/debate-takeaways-trump-harris/index.html

McHugh, K. A. (2023). A Long War and a Short Temper: A Bureaucratic Politics Analysis of the Trump Administration’s Policy in Afghanistan. Diplomacy & Statecraft, 34(3), 566–607. https://doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2023.2239643

Mcinnes, C. (2003). A different kind of war? September 11 and the United States’ Afghan war. Review of International Studies, 29(2). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210503001657

Shifrinson, J., & Wertheim, S. (2021). Biden the Realist The President’s Foreign Policy Doctrine Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight. https://viet-studies.net/kinhte/BidenRealist_FA.pdf

Smith, Z. S. (2022, April 27). U.S. Left $7 Billion In Military Hardware In Afghanistan As Taliban Took Over, DOD Reportedly Finds. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharysmith/2022/04/27/us-left-7-billion-in-military-hardware-in-afghanistan-as-taliban-took-over-dod-reportedly-finds/

Stewart, P., & Ali, I. (2021, August 30). Last U.S. troops depart Afghanistan after massive airlift ending America’s longest war. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/last-us-forces-leave-afghanistan-after-nearly-20-years-2021-08-30/

Tuba TAŞLICALI KOÇ, & Burak Şakir ŞEKER. (2023). US WITHDRAWAL PROCESS FROM AFGHANISTAN AND ITS EFFECTS ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. Karadeniz Araştırmaları, 20(79), 533–558. https://doi.org/10.56694/karadearas.1367515

Walldorf, C. W. (2022). Narratives and War: Explaining the Length and End of U.S. Military Operations in Afghanistan. International Security, 47(1), 93–138. https://doi.org/10.1162/isec_a_00439