NYT "The Afghanistan War Was America's Mistake"... Major Foreign Media Criticize the US in Unison

▲U.S. President Joe Biden [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Major foreign media outlets on the 30th (local time) covered the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as a top story, unanimously criticizing the move. They expressed concerns about the Taliban's return to power, citing the casualties from the Afghan war and the enormous U.S. defense spending involved.

On the same day, the U.S. New York Times (NYT) described the Afghan war as having "begun during President George Bush's administration as part of the pursuit of al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks," and evaluated that "the U.S., confident it had defeated the Taliban, made tremendous efforts to establish Western-style democracy in Afghanistan."

However, the NYT pointed out that "over 20 years and through four presidents, the Taliban was never defeated."

Regarding the recent U.S. troop withdrawal, it criticized that it was "marred by horrific civilian casualties," suggesting it "seems to symbolize America's mistakes in the war."

It also noted that during a drone strike on a vehicle suspected of carrying suicide bombers in Kabul, Afghanistan, 10 civilians, including seven children, were killed.

The Washington Post (WP) reported that "the cost of the war was enormous," stating that "over four U.S. administrations, more than 2,400 American soldiers died, tens of thousands of Afghans lost their lives, and trillions of dollars were spent on defense and development projects."

It further criticized that "the final withdrawal returned clear control to the Islamist militant group Taliban, which had been fought for nearly 20 years."

The Associated Press (AP) also described the Afghan war as "likely to be remembered as a tremendous failure in U.S. military history."

British media also criticized the U.S., referencing the Vietnam War, which brought humiliation to America.

The British daily The Guardian reported on the completion of the Afghan withdrawal with the takeoff of a C-17 transport plane carrying Ross Wilson, the U.S. charg? d'affaires in Afghanistan, stating, "The U.S. presence, which began just weeks after the 9/11 attacks and lasted nearly 20 years, has ended."

The Guardian evaluated that "the U.S. abandoned the last foothold in Kabul to the guerrilla group it had easily ousted in 2001," showing a defeat comparable to the Vietnam War.

BBC broadcasted that "for the 38 million Afghans, there is considerable uncertainty about what kind of rule the Taliban will impose," and forecasted that "while America's largest war is over, the fighting for Afghans certainly is not."

Additionally, France's AFP news agency expressed regret, stating that although the U.S. spent a lot of money to rebuild Afghanistan, ravaged by conflict, the brutal 20-year war ended with the Islamist hardline Taliban's return to power.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.