On September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorists—followers of Osama bin Laden and his terrorist outfit, al-Qaeda—hijacked American Airlines flights and used them as missiles to attack iconic American landmarks, including the towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, killing citizens of 62 countries, including 250 Indians, 200 Pakistanis, 200 Britons, 55 Australians and 23 Japanese. Reports indicate that nearly five times as many Americans were killed in the attacks as in all terrorist incidents of the previous three decades combined. The anniversary is a moment to remember and pay tribute to the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives in these heinous acts of terror.
The terrorist attacks came at a time when the United States enjoyed unquestioned global supremacy and marked the beginning of a new era in which counterterrorism topped the list of national priorities. There was a wave of historically unprecedented compassion, sympathy, support and solidarity with the American people from across the world. France’s leading newspaper, Le Monde, declared, “We are all Americans.”
In October 2001, the United States launched military operations in Afghanistan “to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime” in response to the 9/11 attacks. Operation Enduring Freedom was the name given to this campaign, which became part of the Global War on Terror (GWOT). President George W. Bush, in his address to a joint session of Congress, expressed the nation’s sense of outrage and resolve, saying, “This is the world’s fight. This is civilization’s fight.”
In 2003, the GWOT expanded from Afghanistan to Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), eventually contributing to developments that culminated in the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS). The Bush administration outlined a “Freedom Agenda” to democratize and modernize the Middle East, arguing that the lack of democratic institutions in the region was among the underlying conditions that provided a breeding ground for growing radicalism. The Iraq invasion was subsequently regarded as “disastrous,” with far-reaching and unintended consequences for the region. Two years later, Le Monde wrote that “the US’s popularity is at its lowest.”
Historian John Lewis Gaddis wrote, “The post-Cold War era began with the collapse of one structure, the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, and ended with the collapse of another, the World Trade Center’s twin towers on September 11, 2001.” It was a “bolt from the blue.” No one could have anticipated attacks of this kind. But from the moment they happened, everything changed.
Over 500,000 Killed in US ‘War On Terror’
Although there were some successes, most notably the killing of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, the war also carried enormous human, financial and political costs. The US-Taliban agreement of February 29, 2020, set May 1, 2021, as the deadline for withdrawal from Afghanistan. Soon after the agreement, the deadly coronavirus pandemic spread across the world. The virus changed perspectives on war and many other issues. President Donald Trump was concerned that American soldiers still in Afghanistan could become casualties of the pandemic.
At the height of the coronavirus crisis, more Americans were reportedly dying each day than the number killed in the September 11 attacks. Growing domestic challenges increased pressure on the United States to withdraw from Afghanistan and reduce the financial burden of the war.
Joe Biden was elected president in 2020. The challenges facing the new president were not significantly different from those confronting the outgoing administration. Continuing his predecessor’s approach, the incoming administration stated: “Rather than return to war with the Taliban, we have to focus on the challenges that are in front of us ... We have ... to meet the stiff competition ... from an increasingly assertive China ... We have to defeat this pandemic and strengthen global health systems to prepare for the next one because there will be another pandemic.”
Whenever there is a vacuum in great-power rivalry, the next powerful state tends to “step into the void.” Although China has not yet formally restored diplomatic relations, Beijing continues to pursue cooperation with the Taliban. Russia, meanwhile, has reestablished diplomatic engagement with Kabul. There are also reports indicating the return of al-Qaeda fighters to Afghanistan. Past lessons suggest that Afghanistan should not be abandoned, as it was following the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. The consequences of such abandonment are clear: terrorist groups flourish on Afghan soil.
Often described as the “graveyard of empires,” Afghanistan’s strategic location and rare mineral deposits at the crossroads of Central, South and Southwest Asia make it geopolitically attractive to major powers.
In August 2021, the US-backed government in Kabul collapsed. With obscurantist fundamentalists in power and rising ultranationalism across the region, there is a danger that traditional ethnic identities could fuel divisions in diverse societies already scarred by repeated interstate wars and intrastate conflicts. Afghanistan’s descent into civil war would be a worst-case scenario for the region at a time when geopolitical trends are pushing rivals India and Pakistan in opposite directions.
The Economist wrote: “India must face the prospect of a new generation of Muslim Kashmiris inspired by the Taliban’s fanaticism.” Before the geopolitical situation becomes dangerously unstable and threatens to engulf the entire region, countries must come together to prevent Afghanistan from descending into chaos and disorder. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)—now largely pushed into oblivion—remains the most suitable regional forum for bringing South Asian countries together.
The September 11 attacks reshaped international politics, geo-economics, diplomacy and global security. A new world order is struggling to emerge. Great-power rivalry has returned. The world is witnessing new realities—geopolitical fragmentation, revisionism, technological warfare, climate crises and multiple transnational threats—that are overshadowing terrorism as the principal geopolitical concern.
The rise of China has been the most significant geopolitical development of the 21st century. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reflects its pursuit of territorial and strategic objectives. The Middle East remains engulfed in uncertainty, instability and turbulence. Taken together, these developments are likely to intensify geopolitical rivalries across different regions of the world.
The lesson of Afghanistan is that no single power, however powerful, can successfully undertake nation-building through armed intervention. No religion or ideology can conquer the world or remake it in its own image. The United States cannot alone, in the words of President Woodrow Wilson, “make the world safe for democracy.”
As Nepal sits strategically between two emerging great powers—China and India—which are at the center of the global power shift, there is no alternative to Nepal’s continued commitment to the UN Charter, peaceful coexistence, non-alignment, international law and multilateralism. Nepal must focus on diplomacy, improved intelligence, greater surveillance and enhanced border security to avoid becoming a theatre of great-power competition. This can be achieved only by placing greater emphasis on strong and legitimate national institutions.
Nepal must remain aware that democracy, freedom, openness and connectivity, while indispensable to the country, can be exploited by individuals or groups seeking to undermine peace, security and democratic stability. Openness must not become a vulnerability. Nepal’s peace and stability matter not only to its neighbors but also to the wider world.
The author, a former ambassador, is currently Vice-President of the Nepal Council of World Affairs.
