Like other Americans, I found myself on the phone the last few days, desperately calling colleagues at the State Department trying to help extricate people I know from Afghanistan.
In the case of the family I was helping, the outcome was positive, and they landed safely in Doha after a harrowing journey and multiple attempts to get them to Karzai International Airport in Kabul. I remain deeply grateful to people on the diplomatic and military side of our government who assisted in the safe passage of this group. Since the withdrawal began in July, the military has evacuated around 122,000 people from the country.
As the United States ends its military presence in Afghanistan, it is critical that we begin a painful process of damage assessment. We must not only assess the lives lost and costs of our involvement in Afghanistan but also reckon with how our Afghan departure alters our fundamental relationships in the world.
Europeans, who have borne the burden of the war with us and now share the migration challenges ahead, are asking tough questions. In the wake of the faster-than-expected Taliban victory, and the frantic effort to evacuate allies, Washington is on the receiving end of some very chilly comments from abroad.
Norbert Roettgen, chairman of the German parliament’s foreign relations committee, said “the early withdrawal was a serious and far-reaching miscalculation by the current administration.”
“We need to think again about how we handle friends, who matter, and how we defend our interests,” tweeted Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative chair of the U.K. parliament’s foreign affairs committee.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair went further, saying “the abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours.”
The conservative candidate for the German chancellorship, Armin Laschet, called the withdrawal “the biggest debacle that NATO has suffered since its founding.”
As we move from Europe to the global south, there is also skepticism and worry about America’s commitment to engagement, and how its flight from Afghanistan might embolden jihadists around the world. Can America be counted on to continue its fight against terrorism?
What is bubbling up from many corners of the world is concern that America cannot be trusted to carry out its commitments and that nations will be left in limbo with no sense of U.S. intentions.
At the same time, there are concerns that our competitors, including Russia and China, will take advantage of the chaos in Afghanistan.
The Chinese propaganda machine is already in high gear. “The disaster in Afghanistan was caused by the U.S. and its allies,” said a report in the Chinese state news wire Xinhua. “Death, bloodshed and a tremendous humanitarian tragedy are what the United State has truly left behind in Afghanistan.”
China is already looking to build relations with the Taliban, having sent delegations to begin discussions of economic deals. China could exploit Afghanistan’s mineral deposits while promising to build factories, power plants and roads.
Meanwhile, Russia has seized on the defeat of the U.S.-backed Afghan government and praised the Taliban, despite its murky past in Afghanistan.
So, what can be done to win back hearts and minds around the world and undo any damage to relationships with friends and allies?
First, we need good public diplomacy. It is critical for the U.S. government to have a high-level communications, outreach and engagement strategy to explain what has happened in Afghanistan and how our departure allows for continued focus on countering violent extremism as well as the extension of our democratic interests and values.
To date, the administration has not named a new U.S. under-secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, although President Biden has nominated someone to serve as assistant secretary of state for global public affairs. How soon that person can be confirmed, and how much power and leverage is assigned to that position, matters. It is urgent that a senior official, with the confidence of the president, be dispatched to foreign capitals to begin listening to concerns and assuaging them.
Secondly, we need to power up Voice of America and the broader international communications government apparatus to beat back Chinese and Russian propaganda by providing good, solid reporting. With few journalists left in Afghanistan, the stories of how life continues will go untold except by the Taliban — hardly a neutral observer.
Lastly, we must have women officials out in force speaking about the key role that women and girls play in global diplomacy. The eyes of the world are upon us, and we must remind global audiences that part of our work in Afghanistan was to expand access and create role models to empower women around the world to make positive change.
We have work to do. The Afghanistan narrative must be redefined as we reposition our military, adjust our diplomacy and rebalance our relationships.
Tara D. Sonenshine is a former U.S. under-secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs.