Experts: American withdrawal from Afghanistan could harm its image in the world

While the Taliban take over Afghan major cities such as Herati and Kandahar, as well as advance to provinces and other areas every day, American officials are acknowledging that they do not know how the situation will turn out.

An expert told the Voice of America that sending troops from the United States to evacuate the embassy is not the result anyone would want.

For me, this indicates the failure of intelligence agencies to predict the Taliban's ability to make progress across the country. I don't think, if Washington knew what developments would be like last week, we would still have 1,400 Americans at the embassy pending evacuation”, says expert Elizabeth Threlkeld with the Stimson Center.

As the Taliban advance, the sudden American diplomatic withdrawal from Kabul sends an unmatched signal, some experts say about the Voice of America. They say this is not the signal Washington would like to send.

The fact that the United States is currently evacuate such large diplomatic personnel I think will send a very powerful message, not only within Afghanistan, but also in the world, that America is leaving, that it is essentially giving up. Of course, for American rivals this will be seen as a sign of weakness” says Michael Kubelman with Wilson Center.

Other experts say Washington has always been cautious in protecting its diplomats.

I think the main message is that the United States will take care of their people, their diplomats. Washington will try to do what it can for those who served as translators, but essentially the United States is leaving. President Biden was very clear on this when asked a few days ago, which suggests it seems quite impossible for him to reconsider his decision to withdraw”, Brian Catulis says with the Center for American Progress.

President Biden has repeatedly said that there is no military solution for the 20-year war in Afghanistan and has stressed that in addition to thousands of American lives lost, Washington spent more than $1 trillion on the equipment and training of the Afghan Army.

While displaced women and children sought refuge in a camp in Kandahar, before the city fell into the hands of the Taliban, another expert told the Voice of America that, in the short term, taking Afghanistan from the Taliban would overshadow the American image as the protector of human rights abroad.

“If the Taliban are successful in taking the country under control and putting the same regime we're used to seeing from them, it would harm the position of the United States as global protector and advanceer of human rights and women's rights”, says Jonathan Schroeder with the CNA research organisation.

Some experts fear that the Taliban are now very close to Kabul and that the Afghan capital may fall faster than anticipated. /voa