The U.S. Failure in Afghanistan and the Future of World Order

Abstract

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is the culmination of a shift in the strategic priorities of the United States in its relationship with the rest of the world that began with the Obama administration. In contrast to George W. Bush’s attempt to challenge the spread of Islamist violence by promoting the establishment of liberal values in the Middle East, the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations have given up on that project in order to focus on the narrower defensive mission of making sure that the United States is not directly affected by terrorism. According to this policy, the spread of Islamist ideology in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe is no longer a significant U.S. foreign policy concern. Rather, the focus will be on suppressing the most virulent examples of this ideology, such as the Islamic State, while tolerating and even collaborating with others, such as Iran, Pakistan, and now perhaps even the Taliban.