Afghanistan on the brink of an abyss
Description
On Tuesday 25 May 2021, Australia formally announced that its embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul would close three days later. This did not terminate the longstanding diplomatic relations between the two states,1 but it did cast a shadow over Afghanistan’s future — a future already clouded by US President Joe Biden’s announcement that all US forces would be withdrawn by 11 September. How this sorry story will end remains to be seen, but it is timely to reflect on how such a flight from the Afghan theatre of operations came to pass, and on some of the dangers that may be waiting in the wings; both for Afghans and for their erstwhile supporters in the wider world.
Afghanistan on the brink of an abyss
On Tuesday 25 May 2021, Australia formally announced that its embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul would close three days later. This did not terminate the longstanding diplomatic relations between the two states,1 but it did cast a shadow over Afghanistan’s future — a future already clouded by US President Joe Biden’s announcement that all US forces would be withdrawn by 11 September. How this sorry story will end remains to be seen, but it is timely to reflect on how such a flight from the Afghan theatre of operations came to pass, and on some of the dangers that may be waiting in the wings; both for Afghans and for their erstwhile supporters in the wider world.
