China taunts America as Taliban seizes nearly all of Afghanistan
As China says it’s ready to be Afghanistan’s “friend” it has brutally mocked the US over its mishandling of the Taliban.
It’s a move known to have pleased Beijing: Washington’s surrender of Afghanistan to the Taliban is being met with delight by its troll-diplomats and media.
“How can a superpower lose to the poorest equipped guerrilla army?” one state-controlled media pundit asked. Another mocked Washington by tweeting: “Chinese netizens joked that the power transition in Afghanistan is even more smooth than a presidential transition in the US.”
He was referring to the January 6 insurrection attempt on Capitol Hill, Washington.
Chinese netizens joked that the power transition in Afghanistan is even more smooth than presidential transition in the US. pic.twitter.com/t1twRIiFme
— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) August 15, 2021
But the “netizens” he spoke of remain tightly controlled behind Beijing’s “Great Firewall”. Only approved party spokespeople can post to the likes of Facebook and Twitter.
“Taliban undid 20 years of American effort in 20 days” one Chinese “citizen” – retweeted by official channels – posted to Twitter despite the risk of arrest.
The Taliban declared the creation of the Islamic Caliphate of Afghanistan after its troops swept into the Presidential Palace in Kabul overnight without a fight. President Ashraf Ghani had already fled the country. “To avoid bloodshed, I thought it would be better to leave,” he wrote on Facebook.
How much do the US elites want to see China get mired in Afghanistan? They must be anxious. But China doesn't have a feud with Afghanistan, nor does it have the arrogance to transform it. No matter who is in power, we're ready to be Afghanistan's friend. pic.twitter.com/h14SA9sVEF
— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) August 15, 2021
Now Taliban fighters have established checkpoints throughout the city, surrounded the international airport and have begun doorknocking in search of journalists and employees of foreign governments and organisations.
The US Embassy has ordered American citizens to “shelter in place”.
Meanwhile, Beijing’s wolf warriors have been quick to highlight the full extent of the military and moral defeat.
RELATED: China and Taliban forge ‘friendship’
“Defeat in Afghanistan is a complete humiliation for the US,” a Global Times editorial crowed. “It brings into question the competence of US’ political and military leadership, its willingness to engage in further military entanglements and its reliability as an ally.”
Beijing takes gold
“The chances of China being as stupid as the US in Afghanistan are zero,” the Global Times said. “The US sought to subdue the country by force.”
China seized Xinjiang in 1949. Tibet was invaded in 1950. It attacked Vietnam in 1979. It’s threatening to invade Taiwan.
Now it’s making veiled threats towards the Taliban, stating that China would “prevent the situation there from having a negative impact on Xinjiang”.
Other threats have been less veiled: “[The Taliban] should keep its promise to cut off all ties with terrorists, extremists and separatists – the ‘Three Evils’ – in the region.”
US scholars/pundits/media/politicians still refrain from using the word “defeat†to describe 20 years of US-led war and occupation in Afghanistan. Admitting the basic fact is so hard for them. How can a superpower lose to the poorest equipped guerrilla army?
— Chen Weihua （陈å«åŽï¼‰ (@chenweihua) August 15, 2021
By terrorists, Beijing means Uighurs.
In recent months, China has been hosting talks with senior Taliban leaders to ensure the ethnic minority won’t attempt to capitalise upon Afghanistan’s collapse. The Muslim-Turkic group has a small force of insurgents based in the mountainous border region.
“How much do the US elites want to see China get mired in Afghanistan? They must be anxious,” the Global Times’ executive editor Hu Xijin taunted. “But China doesn’t have a feud with Afghanistan, nor does it have the arrogance to transform it. No matter who is in power, we’re ready to be Afghanistan’s friend.”
RELATED: China moves in on Afghanistan
Chinese diplomats have also promised to bring the Taliban into the embrace of its international “Belt and Road” global infrastructure scheme.
“China, in the longer term, will attach the greatest importance to how it can assist in economic development,” one editorial stated.
#Opinion: Unlike the US, China has a friendly image in Afghanistan. China has offered constructive suggestions totally different from the US approach, which may lead to results the US approach can never achieve. https://t.co/13HBRdt7E4
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) August 15, 2021
But, mostly, Beijing-controlled media and diplomats have sought to maximise the diplomatic carnage caused by the West’s capitulation of Kabul.
“All the uncertainties surrounding the future of Afghanistan and regional and global affairs are attributed to the US,” the Global Times asserts. “The unfolding events only prove that the Americans cannot be trusted – US protection is always absent when needed.”
Washington flounders
The Taliban has captured at least 26 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals in recent weeks. Kabul – which US intelligence agencies predicted would hold out another 90 days – fell overnight.
“We went to Afghanistan 20 years ago with one mission, and that mission was to deal with the folks who attacked us on 9/11 – and we have succeeded in that mission,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told media yesterday.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden is relaxing at Camp David.
OPINION: Why could Taliban defeat Afghanistan gov’t forces in 10 days, after U.S. withdrawal?
— Panda Paws (@Panda_Paws_) August 15, 2021
Because not many gov’t soldiers wanted a war. Their only reason to fight is earn U.S. money, which is now gone.
So it’s safe to conclude the root of Afghanistan instability is the U.S. pic.twitter.com/jx7mbKJGU8
Beijing isn’t being gracious.
“The 20-year war in #Afghanistan launched by the US ends like a joke. American soldiers died for nothing,” the Global Times tweeted. “The only change is more people have died, and American taxpayers have wasted their money to feed military-industrial tycoons.”
It’s an allegation Washington, and the West, has left themselves exposed to.
Despite the trillions of dollars expended on Afghanistan, it has almost nothing to show for it in the way of airports, roads, railways, power stations – or other nation-building infrastructure.
Now Beijing has taken the high ground.
“It was the US that has created this mess,” a Communist Party-approved editorial stated.
“Totally unlike the US, China has a friendly image in Afghanistan,” another said. “Therefore, China will not be an enemy of either party in Afghanistan, and neither party will make China an enemy.”
#环çƒæ—¶æŠ¥Editorial: The drastic change in Afghanistan’s situation is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the US. It declared the complete failure of US intent to reshape Afghanistan. It is a clearer demonstration that the US is indeed like a “paper tiger.†https://t.co/CMG9H1fYZVpic.twitter.com/M6EyKBibBx
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) August 15, 2021
It went on to drive a wedge into attempts by the US to strengthen diplomatic ties with Southeast Asia. “It proves that Washington is an ‘unreliable partner’ that always abandons its partners or allies to seek self-interest. Those countries that rely on the US for security should understand from the current predicament in Afghanistan that the US only makes false promises and cares about its own interest.”
Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer | @JamieSeidel
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