Afghanistan Peace CampaignAntony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, said that the future administration of Donald Trump will not change US foreign policy toward Afghanistan.
The US Secretary of State said: “I’m not at all sure that the election turned on any one or even collection of foreign policy issues, most elections don’t. But leaving that aside, Americans don’t want us in conflicts. They don’t want us at war, we went through 20 years where we had hundreds of thousands of Americans deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. People were tired of that, understandably.”
Antony Blinken said ending the US war in Afghanistan was beneficial for the country, adding that the withdrawal from Afghanistan has strengthened the US’s global standing.
He said: “The fact that we will not have another generation of Americans fighting and dying in Afghanistan, I think that’s an important achievement in and of itself. It’s also actually strengthened our position around the world, and I see that every single day. Our adversaries would have liked nothing more than for us to remain bogged down in Afghanistan.”
“It is likely that Trump will pursue an Afghanistan policy focused on economics, ensuring international peace and security, which will serve the interests of both the US and Afghanistan,” said Janat Faheem Chakari, a political analyst.
Yesterday, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the deputy political minister of Foreign Affairs, urged the new US administration to reconsider its policies toward Afghanistan.
Stanikzai said: “Our request to Mr. Trump is that if he wants to have good relations with Afghanistan, this issue should be resolved. We hope he takes positive steps, and we will also work to establish relations, God willing.”
The Doha Agreement was signed in February 2020 between the Islamic Emirate and the Trump administration in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
It remains to be seen how the new US administration will approach Afghanistan.