Leaving Afghanistan

“First, it is clear that transition happened because all the key constituencies wanted the Americans out of Afghanistan: the American people, the Afghan people and their leaders, both military and civilian. But underneath this umbrella of consensus, there was disagreement about what transition was and how it should occur.” (Latest Longest War; 293)

This piece explains the defining divisions in the political transition in Afghanistan between the key players involved. While all involved desired the same outcome -- American troops to leave Afghanistan and Afghan agencies to take control of state functions from U.S. forces -- the various groups in this process disagreed widely on the way this should be achieved. It is explained that the U.S., for instance, was mainly concerned with the subsequent withdrawal of troops, establishing and meeting timelines, and accomplishing set tasks. Transition for Afghan leadership, on the other hand, “meant full sovereign control over [the] nation, guaranteed future international support, and a military government that could defend the nation without interference from enemies or friends” (272). As a result, those involved pursued their own goals and aimed to shape the process to match this, despite the varying priorities of the two governments. While reconstruction and development efforts provided temporary gains, the lack of sufficient Afghan-led authorities and establishments led the projects into misuse and corruption. Additionally, the major goal of establishing a strong state security force appears to have failed during the transition, as the “overall trend [was] one of escalating violence and insurgent attacks” (289). Due to this, the transition policy implemented in Afghanistan was largely ineffective, as “the coalition’s ability to keep to a timeline set in Washington did not translate into calm or confidence on the ground” (289) and did little to ensure a stable Afghan authority needed to match the troop withdrawal.