2021-08-17 06:52:40
The Hindu Editorial with Vocab - 17th AUGUST
Fall of Kabul: On Afghanistan crisis
History
came full circle on August 15 when the Taliban captured Kabul, almost 20 years after the U.S. launched its global war on terror. The city of roughly 5 million people fell to the Islamist
insurgents without even a fight while Afghan President Ashraf Ghani
fled the country, and the Americans abandoned their
Embassy and rushed to Kabul airport. It was a
surreal moment for the U.S., which had pledged to defeat the Taliban in every corner of Afghanistan, and a tragedy for the Afghans, who were left at the mercy of a murderous militia. The soldiers did not fight. Police abandoned their stations. Former Northern Alliance warlords left the country. And the government
crumbled like the proverbial
house of cards. There is already worrying news coming from the provinces that the Taliban are enforcing a strict religious code on the public and violence against anyone who resists. The last time the Taliban were in power, women were not allowed to work. They had to cover their faces and be accompanied by a male relative outside their homes. Girls were not allowed to go to school. The Taliban had also banned TV, music, painting and photography, handed out brutal forms of punishment to those violating their Islamic code, and persecuted minorities. The
chaotic scenes from Kabul airport, where people are
desperately trying to
cling on to airplanes hoping to leave the country, bear testimony to their fear of the Taliban.
This is a historic development that will have lasting implications for global geopolitics. Unlike 1996, this is not only about the Taliban taking power. This is also about an Islamist group with a medieval mindset and modern weapons defeating the world’s most powerful country. The U.S. can say in its defence that its mission was to fight al-Qaeda and that it met its strategic objectives. But in reality, after spending 20 years in Afghanistan to fight terrorism and rebuild the Afghan state, the U.S.
ran away from the battlefield, embarrassing itself and leaving its allies helpless. The images from Arg, the presidential palace in Kabul, and the airport will continue to haunt President Joe Biden and the U.S. for a long time. In 1996, when the Taliban took Kabul, the government did not flee the country. Ahmad Shah Massoud and Burhanuddin Rabbani retreated to the Panjshir valley from where they regrouped the Northern Alliance and continued resistance against the Taliban. This time, there is no Northern Alliance. There is no government. The whole country, except some pockets, is now firmly under the Taliban’s control. The Taliban are also more
receptive to regional players such as China and Russia, while Pakistan is openly celebrating their triumph. It remains to be seen what kind of a regime a stronger Taliban will install in Kabul. If the 1990s are anything to go by, darker days are ahead in Afghanistan.
CREDIT SOURCE - THE HINDU
-------------------------------------------1. Come Full Circle (Phrase)- to become the same again as it was at the beginning.
2. Insurgent (N)- a person fighting against the government or armed forces of their own country
3. Flee (V)- run away from a place or situation of danger. भाग गए, छोड़ना
4. Embassy (N)- Embassy (N)- (the official building of) a group of officials (diplomats) and their head (ambassador), who represent their government in a foreign country
5. Surreal (adj )- very strange; with images mixed together in a strange way like in a dream
6. Crumble (V)- to become weaker in strength or influence. कमज़ोर पड़ना
7. House Of Cards (Phrase)- a structure, situation, or institution that is insubstantial, shaky, or in constant danger of collapse.
8. Chaotic (Adj)- in a state of complete confusion and disorder. अराजकतापूर्ण
9. Desperately (Adv)- used to emphasize the extreme degree of something. उग्रता के साथ, निराशापूर्वक
10. Cling On To (Phrasal Verb)- to be unwilling to lose something or stop doing something.
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