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The U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan: Will International Terrorism Now Be Empowered or Defeated?
(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Dore Gold - Defending his withdrawal decision, President Joe Biden claimed that al-Qaeda was "gone" from Afghanistan. Yet at the same time, the American and British security establishments spoke of al-Qaeda's continued presence in the country. A UN report to the Security Council, submitted in June 2021, stated that "despite expectations for a reduction in violence, 2020 (the year of the U.S.-Taliban agreement on withdrawal) emerged as the most violent year ever recorded by the United Nations in Afghanistan." A common Western assumption is the hope that withdrawal would reduce the hostility of the Taliban and their allies. But this is a misinterpretation of what motivated jihadist groups. In the Middle East, withdrawals strengthen their motivation. The Israeli experience was identical: when Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, Hamas won the Palestinian elections and took over Gaza from Fatah. Rocket attacks on Israel, after the Gaza withdrawal, increased by 500%. To defeat the jihadist forces it was necessary to accompany withdrawal with actions that left no doubt that what happened was a defeat for them. But it does not seem that President Biden will pursue such a strategy, leaving the West with an empowered al-Qaeda to fight against in the years ahead. The writer, former Director-General of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Israeli Ambassador to the UN, is President of the Jerusalem Center.