Four years have passed since the Doha Agreement, an agreement that many do not even want to hear about because it is perceived as the factor behind the collapse of the previous government and the resurgence of Taliban power. If the agreement’s provisions had been implemented as expected by the United States and the former Afghan government, perhaps it would have had a favorable reputation these days. For now, however, the agreement has a winner: the Taliban. Its losers are also clear: the United States and its allied government in Afghanistan.
The recent stance of the Biden administration regarding the fourth anniversary of the Doha Agreement deserves attention. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House spokesperson, and Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, have raised points in separate press briefings and in response to reporters’ questions that they seemingly hesitated to articulate in the past: the Doha Agreement empowered the Taliban, weakened Washington’s allies in Afghanistan, and ultimately forced the United States out of the field; the Taliban have not acted upon the provisions of the agreement aimed at meaningful dialogue with other Afghans to establish an all-inclusive political system; the Doha Pact compelled the United States to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan without a clear vision of the country’s future events and whether America will force the Taliban to fulfill their commitments.
These points, articulated by U.S. government spokespersons, are exactly what Republican forces have repeatedly criticized the Biden administration for. Over the past two and a half years, the Biden administration has attempted to avoid addressing the provisions of the Doha Pact and what is perceived as the Taliban’s victory resulting from it. But this time, they have appeared with a different tone from the past and acknowledged the disregard for their former ally in Afghanistan, a concession from which the Taliban have benefited. Whereas before, members of the Biden administration argued that the previous Afghan government should defend itself against the Taliban and that this was not the responsibility of Afghanistan’s rulers. But now, White House spokespersons, with their new statements, have at least partially shifted some of the responsibility onto the Doha Agreement and the withdrawal process.
The Biden administration has justified America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, a result of its commitment to the Doha Agreement, as a goal aimed at a triumphant exit from the quagmire of elections. Republicans, to make the Democratic Party’s victory impossible, have relentlessly criticized the Biden administration since the withdrawal, blaming it for all the failures. Now, as American citizens are getting closer to the elections step by step, the White House has abandoned its policy of denial and confessed; confessing that the Doha treaty was effective in the collapse of the previous Afghan government. While admitting its failure could potentially harm the Democratic Party’s prospects in the elections. The fact that the White House has accepted this risk may be because the Washington-Taliban relationship has hit rock bottom. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for the Biden administration to shoulder some of the responsibility for the collapse of a government that has been supported by the United States for the past twenty years.
On the other hand, the Taliban have played the role of victorious rhetoricians and behave in a manner that makes it seem like America owes them. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, bluntly stated in response to the remarks of Biden administration officials that the United States, to conceal its defeat in Afghanistan, has used the Doha Agreement as a “smokescreen”: “The Doha Agreement led to the liberation of the country from occupation and the establishment of the Islamic Emirate. America, which was defeated in Afghanistan, tried to use that agreement as a smokescreen while violating parts of it.” Mujahid’s response to U.S. government spokespersons is from a position of victory, combined with ridicule and irony. Mujahid accuses America of violating the Doha Agreement, whereas the Biden administration has implemented its provisions well, otherwise, it would have been unlikely for the Taliban to taste the flavor of power.
