Solidarity with the Afghan people, victims of imperialism and the Taliban
This statement was adopted by the Executive Bureau of the Fourth International on 30 August 2021
Ten years after the withdrawal of the American army from Iraq, US intervention is again suffering a real debacle, this time in Afghanistan. We will have to see in the period to come to what extent this affects the claims of US imperialism to rule and manoeuvre global geopolitics as the world’s leading power, as it did in occupying these two countries by a criminal military force 20 years ago.
In the new millennium Afghanistan was the first of many to suffer such military assaults. The US foreign policy establishment had already identified China, Iran and Russia as the ones to watch out for. They were thus well aware that Afghanistan, apart from Pakistan, neighbours Iran, China and pro-Russia Central Asian Republics, the latter also having large relatively untapped sources of oil and gas.
The takeover of Kabul by the Taliban on 15 August was marked by bloodshed, abductions and displacements; it brings an uncertain future for the majority of 38 million Afghans. That the Taliban has again taken power – and done so far more quickly than the US expected – is a heavy blow to the political credibility of US imperialism. Its Afghan stooges have collapsed.
在美军撤出伊拉克十年后，美国的干涉再次遭遇真正的失败，这次是在阿富汗。在此期间，我们必然会看到这对美帝国主义作为世界头号大国统治和操纵全球地缘政治的主张有多大的影响，就像它在二十年前用犯罪军事力量占领这两个国家所做的那样。
在新千年，在众多遭受此类军事袭击的国家中，阿富汗是第一个。美国外交政策机构已经将中国、伊朗和俄罗斯确定为需要警惕的国家。因此，他们很清楚，阿富汗除了巴基斯坦之外，还与伊朗、中国和亲俄罗斯的中亚共和国相邻，后者还拥有大量几乎没有怎么开发的石油和天然气资源。
8月15日塔利班接管喀布尔时发生了流血、绑架和流离失所；这给3800万阿富汗人中的大多数人带来了不确定的未来。塔利班再次掌权——而且比美国预期的要快得多——是对美帝国主义政治信誉的沉重打击。它的阿富汗走狗崩溃了。
Chaotic upset for imperialism
The Taliban victory was facilitated by in many ways by US imperialism. The Doha Agreement with the Taliban paved the way for this takeover. With the direct or indirect involvement of Qatar, Russia, Iran, China and Pakistan, the US and the Taliban reached an agreement. The 20 years’ US-led war in Afghanistan achieved nothing. With the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, the country has now been left at the mercy of an emboldened Taliban. At no point were the Afghan people involved in deciding their own fate. Donald Trump is now busy blaming President Biden. But in fact, both are complicit. Biden is continuing the imperialist policies of Trump, whether this is in regard to Afghanistan or to Israel, Cuba, Venezuela and elsewhere.
While Trump pushed for this agreement, Biden implemented it. The US withdrawal testifies to the declining support in the US for the “forever war’ and allowed US imperialism to extract itself militarily from the quagmire in Afghanistan and focus resources elsewhere. The USA wanted to leave Afghanistan come what may. They pulled out in the worst possible manner without first organising the evacuation of civilians.
The unceremonious US withdrawal has drawn ire even from its allies. Among European politicians, angry they were not involved in US plans for withdrawal, there is renewed talk of the formation of an armed force that can operate autonomously from the US and NATO. While they celebrated with euphoria the takeover of Kabul by the imperialist forces 20 years earlier, the defeat and especially the rapid collapse of their puppet regime has opened up serious disagreements among the US allies. One of those jubilant partners of Bush in 2001, Tony Blair, condemned the “abandonment” of the country as “dangerous” and “unnecessary”.
美帝国主义在众多方面促成了塔利班的胜利。与塔利班达成的多哈协议为这次收购铺平了道路。在卡塔尔、俄罗斯、伊朗、中国和巴基斯坦的直接或间接参与下，美国和塔利班达成协议。美国领导的阿富汗战争在20里年一无所获。随着美军从阿富汗撤出，阿富汗已任由胆大妄为的塔利班摆布。阿富汗人民从未能决定自己的命运。唐纳德·特朗普现在忙于指责拜登总统。但事实上，两者都是同谋。拜登正在继续特朗普的帝国主义政策，无论是针对阿富汗还是针对以色列、古巴、委内瑞拉及其他地方。
特朗普推动这项协议，拜登实施了这项协议。美国撤军证明了美国对“不断战争”的支持率下降了，使美帝国主义在阿富汗摆脱了军事泥潭，以便将资源集中在其他地方。无论如何，美国都想离开阿富汗。他们在没有首先组织平民撤离的情况下以最糟糕的方式率先撤离。
美国随随便便的撤军甚至惹怒了其盟友。欧洲政客为他们没能参与美国的撤军计划，重新讨论组建一支可以独立于美国和北约运作的武装部队而生气。20年前，虽然他们欣喜若狂地庆祝帝国主义势力占领喀布尔，但现在他们的傀儡政权的失败，尤其是其傀儡政权的迅速崩溃，在美国盟友之间引发了严重的分歧。布什在2001年欢欣鼓舞的伙伴之一托尼·布莱尔（Tony Blair）正谴责“放弃”一个国家是“危险的”和“不必要的”行为。
China and Russia guarantors of Taliban regime
The return of the Taliban opens up the possibility of a further strengthening of the influence of US rivals such as Russia and China in the region. Unlike at the time of the US occupation of Kabul in 2001, China and Russia are no longer siding with US imperialism. Both countries are in serious discussions with the Taliban on how to “develop Afghanistan” and complete projects left by US imperialism. Russia and China are shamelessly ready to recognize the Taliban dictatorship. They do not even have to answer to their people what will happen to the Afghan people. Dictatorships have their own “benefits”.
The divisions among US allies and the strengthening influence of its rivals show the Doha agreement was a compromise for US imperialism. In its slow, tortuous decline it realizes it is unable to dominate events in the way the US government intended when they launched the so-called “war on terror” two decades ago.
A large and chaotic airlifting operation followed the Taliban takeover of Kabul. The NATO forces have evacuated tens of thousands of people from the Kabul airport. With dozens dead as a result of the unrest and attacks, thousands more are still waiting for a miraculous escape from the country to avoid Taliban death squads. Despite thousands on the airport waiting for the US and NATO assistance, President Joe Biden isremained determined to end the dramatic evacuation operation by 31 August. Such is US apathy towards Afghans.
The US has now also frozen the 9.5 billion dollars foreign reserves held in their own central bank while the IMF is suspending $450m meant for Afghanistan as part of the coronavirus relief programme.
This means that Afghanistan, the world’s seventh poorest country, left at the mercy of the Taliban, will further slide into poverty.
What has been spent in Afghanistan in the name of development, “democracy” and training of the armed forces for the last 20 years was unprecedented in terms of investment. According to the Cost of War Project, the United States poured $2226 billion into Afghanistan. This money could have provided basic education and health care all over the world. According to a 2020 report by the US Department of Defense, the United States spent $815.7 billion on war expenses.
The casualties in this war can be estimated from the fact that by April 2021, 47,235 civilians, 72 journalists and 444 aid workers had been killed. 66,000 Afghan soldiers also fell victim to this war.
The United States lost 2,442 troops and 20,666 were wounded. In addition, 3,800 private security personnel were killed. Soldiers from 40 countries took part in NATO’s Afghan forces. Of these, 1,144 soldiers were killed. The number of people who sought refuge outside the country is 2.7 million, while 4 million have been internally displaced. US imperialism borrowed lavishly to fund this war. It paid an estimated $536 billion in interest alone. In addition, it spent $296 billion on medical and other expenses for returning combat troops. There was $88 billion spent on training the 300,000 Afghan soldiers who were surrendering without a fight, and $36 billion spent on reconstruction projects such as dams, highways, etc., then $9 billion spent as compensation so the Afghans would not cultivate poppy and sell heroin.
US imperialism used the danger represented by the Taliban and Al Quaeda to create secret camps and jails for torturing people, to perpetrate crimes against humanity, to use Guantanamo to jail people without due processing, to strengthen the CIA, the NSA, to adopt the Patriot Act, etc.
塔利班的回归为进一步加强俄罗斯和中国等美国竞争对手在该地区的影响提供了可能性。与2001年美国占领喀布尔时不同，中、俄不再站在美帝国主义一边。两国都在与塔利班认真讨论如何“发展阿富汗”和完成美帝国主义留下的项目。俄罗斯和中国无耻地准备承认塔利班独裁统治。他们甚至不必向他们的人民回答阿富汗人民会发生什么。独裁政权自有其“好处”。
美国盟友之间的分歧和竞争对手影响力的增强表明，多哈协议是美帝国主义的妥协。在其缓慢曲折的衰退过程中，它意识到自己无法以美国政府20年前发动所谓的“反恐战争”时所希望的方式主宰事件。
塔利班接管喀布尔之后，一场大规模而混乱的空运行动发生了。北约部队已从喀布尔机场疏散了数万人。由于动乱和袭击造成数十人死亡，还有数千人仍在等待能否奇迹般地逃离阿富汗，以避开塔利班敢死队。尽管有数千人在机场等待美国和北约的援助，但拜登总统仍然决心在8月31日之前结束戏剧性的撤离行动。这就是美国对阿富汗人的冷漠。
美国还冻结了其本国央行持有的95亿美元外汇储备，而国际货币基金组织则暂停了为阿富汗提供的4.5亿美元作为冠状病毒救助计划一部分的资金。
这意味着，受塔利班摆布的世界第七穷国阿富汗将进一步陷入贫困。
过去20年，以发展、“民主”和武装部队培训的名义在阿富汗花费的资金数量之大，在投资方面前所未有。据战争成本项目（Cost of War Project）数据，美国向阿富汗投入了22260亿美元。这笔钱本可以为全世界提供基础教育和医疗保健。根据美国国防部2020年的一份报告，美国在战争费用上花了8157亿美元。
这场战争的伤亡人数可以从到2021年4月已有47235名平民、72名记者和444名援助人员遇难的事实进行估算。66000名阿富汗士兵也成为这场战争的牺牲品。
美国有2442名士兵阵亡，20666人受伤。此外，还有3800名私人保安被杀。来自40个国家的士兵参加了北约的阿富汗部队。其中，1144名士兵阵亡。在国外寻求庇护的人有270万人，还有400万人在国内流离失所。美帝国主义大举借债来资助这场战争。但它仅支付了大约5360亿美元的利息。此外，它还花费了2960亿美元用于返回作战部队的医疗和其他费用。880亿美元用于培训30万不战而降的阿富汗士兵，360亿美元用于水坝、高速公路等重建项目，然后又花费90亿美元作为补偿，以免阿富汗人种植罂粟和出售海洛因。
美帝国主义借口塔利班和基地组织很危险，建立秘密营地和监狱折磨人，犯下危害人类罪，在关塔那摩监狱未经正当程序监禁人，加强中央情报局（CIA）、国家安全局（NSA），通过《爱国者法案》等。
Collapse of violent, incompetent and corrupt regime
The US and its allies promised that their occupation would bring development and liberate women from the Taliban’s oppressive rule. But this did not happen. From its beginning, the occupation relied on corruption, violence and deals with repressive power-holders and former warlords rather than on genuine local support. As the Revolutionary Association of Afghan Women commented, “the occupation only resulted in bloodshed, destruction and chaos. They turned our country into the most corrupt, insecure, drug-mafia and dangerous place especially for women”. The occupation miserably failed in its claimed goal of eradicating poverty. At present, the unemployment rate in Afghanistan is 25 percent and the poverty ratio is 47 percent according to World Bank estimates. Ashraf Ghani & Co. were involved in mega corruption. The class divide was sharp.
Afghans did not fight for the Americans; why would they fight for their local agents? The Afghan people and soldiers had no ideological basis to fight on behalf of the regime against the Taliban. The regime collapsed not because support for the Taliban is overwhelming but because its violence, incompetence and corruption meant few were willing to fight for it. The historical lesson of Afghanistan is that the forces created by foreign military intervention cannot defend the country or significantly improve conditions for the majority. For 20 years, the US and NATO forces were stationed in Afghanistan, but their trained Afghan army dispersed without a fight. The previous Soviet occupation, which we similarly denounced, did not succeed in establishing a long-term regime either.
Ashraf Ghani and company represent the worst form of capitalism. The Taliban, on the other hand have been able to exploit religion cleverly. They have an idea of a religious state. Ashraf Ghani never made clear which state he wanted. There is little hope that a serious opposition to the Taliban will emerge in Afghanistan in the near future. Most of the war lords (often former Mujahideen) who sided with Washington for the last 20 years and have remained in Afghanistan are engaging with the Taliban in so-called “power sharing unity government” negotiations. They have accepted their defeat and are now eager to accept any crumbs that the Taliban might throw to them. Such warlords will be used by the Taliban, only to be prosecuted later as an excuse for failures in providing any relief to the masses. The so-called “anti-Taliban resistance” now celebrated by parts of Western media is made up of similarly discredited abusive warlords and are no alternative.
美国及其盟国承诺，他们的占领将带来发展，并将妇女从塔利班的压迫性统治中解放出来。但结果并非如此。从一开始，占领就依赖于腐败、暴力以及与压迫性掌权者和前军阀的交易，而不是依赖真正的当地支持。正如阿富汗妇女革命协会（Revolutionary Association of Afghan Women）所评论的那样，“占领只会导致流血、破坏和混乱。他们把我们的国家变成了最为腐败、不安全、毒品黑手党横行和危险的地方，尤其是对女性而言”。在其声称的消除贫困目标方面，军事占领彻底失败了。据世界银行估计，目前阿富汗的失业率为25%，贫困率为47%。阿什拉夫·加尼（Mohammad Ashraf Ghani）及其公司卷入了大规模腐败。阶级分化很明显。
阿富汗人没有为美国人而战；他们又为何要为当地的代理人而战？阿富汗人民和士兵没有任何理念基础可以为了政府而与塔利班作战。该政权垮台不是因为对塔利班的支持是压倒性的，而是因为它的暴力、无能和腐败意味着很少有人愿意为它而战。阿富汗的历史教训是，外国军事干涉所产生的力量无法保卫国家或显著改善大多数人的状况。二十年来，美国和北约军队驻扎在阿富汗，但他们训练有素的阿富汗军队不战而溃。我们同样谴责的前苏联占领也没有成功建立长期政权。
一方面，阿什拉夫·加尼及其公司代表了最糟糕的资本主义形式。另一方面，塔利班能够巧妙地利用宗教。他们的理念是建立一个宗教国家。阿什拉夫·加尼从未明确表示他想要建立怎样的国家。在不久的将来，阿富汗几乎不可能出现对塔利班的重要反对行为。过去二十年来一直站在华盛顿一边并留在阿富汗的大多数军阀（通常是前圣战者组织）正在与塔利班进行所谓的“权力共享联合政府”谈判。他们已经承认自己失败了，现在渴望拾取塔利班可能扔给他们的任何碎屑。这些军阀将被塔利班利用，之后会被起诉，理由是他们未能为群众提供任何救济。现在被部分西方媒体吹捧的所谓“反塔利班抵抗”是由同样名誉扫地的军阀组成，并不能提供替代选项。
Taliban consolidating power through violence
The Taliban are consolidating their power through a mixture of strategies. On one hand, they are preparing and are involved in targeted killings of their opponents in different parts of Afghanistan, on the other, they are trying to win the support of tribal leaders and former government functionaries. This is to give an image of all-inclusive government. These gestures of inclusiveness are nothing but a farce. With Kabul under their control, the Taliban can afford the luxury of awarding token power sharing in return for the recognition of their regime.
At the moment, the Taliban are still working cautiously in Kabul, but for the past months, they have been showing their usual violence wherever they have occupied. The United Nations itself and Human Rights Watch have made statements on war crimes committed by the Taliban in the past weeks.
The Taliban means “barbarism is our politics”. Their real strategy is to keep people in fear and discipline them through terror. Therefore, savage punishments (cutting off nose and hands, stoning, public executions, dropping from helicopters) are awarded to spread fear as much as possible. Through terror and insult, they break the resistance.
Last time only the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan recognized the Taliban regime. But now, the governments of Turkey, Russia, China, Pakistan and other countries are signalling their willingness to cooperate with the Taliban. And while politicians of the western imperialist countries hypocritically condemn the violence of the Taliban, they too leave open the possibility of “engagement” with it in the future. History is replete with examples of US support towards reactionary movements both within Afghanistan and in the region. The US forged an alliance with the right-wing dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq in Pakistan and the reactionary Saudi regime to support a global network of jihadists against the Soviet-backed Afghan government. After toppling the Najeebullah government, the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan as a result of a bloody, protracted civil war. Imperial geopolitics and competition are on display with all its ugly features. The price will be paid by the Afghan and other peoples of the world.
塔利班正在通过多种策略巩固其权力。一方面，他们准备并参与在阿富汗不同地区对反对者的定点杀戮行动，另一方面，他们试图赢得部落首领和前政府官员的支持。这是为了给人一种包容一切的政府的形象。这些包容的姿态只不过是一场闹剧。喀布尔在他们的控制之下，塔利班可以负担得起授予象征性权力分享的奢侈，以换取这些人承认其政权。
目前，塔利班仍在喀布尔小心翼翼地工作，但在过去的几个月里，他们在自己占领的所有地区都实施惯常的暴力行为。联合国本身和“人权观察”就过去几周塔利班犯下的战争罪行发表了声明。
塔利班意味着“野蛮就是我们的政治”。他们真正的策略是让人们保持恐惧，并利用恐怖来惩罚人们。因此，野蛮的惩罚（砍掉鼻子和手、用石头砸死、公开处决、从直升机上把人仍下去）被尽可能地用来散播恐惧。他们恐怖和侮辱消灭抵抗。
上次塔利班执政时，只有阿拉伯联合酋长国、沙特阿拉伯和巴基斯坦承认塔利班政权。但现在，土耳其、俄罗斯、中国、巴基斯坦等国政府都表示愿意与塔利班合作。西方帝国主义国家的政客在虚伪地谴责塔利班的暴力行为的同时，也为未来与塔利班“交好”的可能性留有余地。历史上有很多美国支持阿富汗境内和该地区的反动运动的例子。当年，美国与巴基斯坦的右翼独裁者齐亚·哈克（Zia-ul-Haq）将军和反动的沙特政权结盟，以支持全球圣战分子网络反对苏联支持的阿富汗政府。在推翻纳吉布拉（Najeebullah）政府后，塔利班因一场血腥的旷日持久的内战而在阿富汗上台。帝国主义地缘政治和竞争以其丑陋的特征展现出来。阿富汗和世界其他人民则为此付出代价。
A new phase of civil war
The setback of US imperialism in Afghanistan does not mean a victory for anti-imperialist forces. US imperialism has been dealt a blow by a reactionary force which has nothing to do with democracy, human and women rights, ecology or social development of the peoples. The first tenure of Taliban regime from 1996-2001 was a nightmare for minorities, women and the general public in Afghanistan. The Taliban have not changed. They are only more resourceful and operate in a more sophisticated manner than in the past. The Taliban have a global agenda of “Islamic victory”. They will repeat in different forms and shapes what they did during their previous years of rule in Afghanistan. This time, the Taliban could remain in power for a longer period, unlike their previous stint in power.
The Taliban’s victory then is not a sign of peace but opens a new phase of civil war. The establishment of another fanatically religious state in South Asia will mean oppression within its borders and the promotion of religious sectarianism throughout the region. Peace will remain elusive. The Taliban victory is bad news for the progressives around the world. Our criticism of the American agents does not imply any support for the Taliban.
Any people’s resistance will face brutal suppression and face huge obstacles. Yet, we are seeing signs of resistance. It is not possible to dictate the people of Afghanistan with the barrel of a gun.
Opposition to both imperialism and the reactionary rule of the Taliban must continue. Only the victory of truly democratic and socialist forces can stop the future bloodshed in Afghanistan. Internationalist progressive and radical forces must do what they can to mitigate the disaster underway and open the way for an alternative in the future. Support for social organizations inside Afghanistan and for the social and political rights of the international diaspora are essential for the formation of an alternative to both imperialism and the Taliban.
美帝国主义在阿富汗的受挫并不意味着反帝势力的胜利。美帝国主义遭到了与民主、人权和妇女权利、生态和人民社会发展无关的反动势力的打击。1996年到2001年塔利班政权在第一个任期内对阿富汗的少数民族、妇女和公众来说是一场噩梦。塔利班没有改变。他们只是比过去更足智多谋，以更复杂的方式运作。塔利班有一个“伊斯兰胜利”的全球议程。他们将以不同的形式重复他们在上次统治阿富汗期间所做的事情。这一次，塔利班可以在更长的时间内继续掌权，不像他们上次的执政时期那样短命。
塔利班的胜利不是和平的标志，而是开启了内战的新阶段。在南亚建立另一个狂热的宗教国家意味着在境内实行压迫，并在整个地区促进宗教教派主义。和平仍将遥不可及。塔利班的胜利对世界各地的进步人士来说是个坏消息。我们对美国特工的批评并不意味着对塔利班的任何支持。
任何人民的反抗都将面临残酷的镇压和巨大的阻碍。然而，我们看到了反抗的迹象。用枪杆子来支配阿富汗人民是不可能的。
必须继续反对帝国主义和塔利班的反动统治。只有真正民主和社会主义力量的胜利才能阻止阿富汗未来的流血事件。国际主义进步和激进力量必须尽其所能减轻正在发生的灾难，并为未来的替代方案开辟道路。支持阿富汗境内的社会组织以及国际侨民的社会和政治权利对于形成替代帝国主义和塔利班的方案至关重要。
• We demand that no country recognizes the Taliban regime as a representative government of Afghanistan.
• There should be no restriction to those seeking refuge or asylum and adequate provision must be made for them to stay or relocate to where they can.
• Rather than blocking humanitarian aid or using it as bargaining chip with the Taliban, aid must be given through local people’s organizations.
• Internationalist progressive and radical forces must try to build links with progressive organizations of Afghans wherever they appear and in particular offer support to calls from organizations of Afghan women.
• These forces must resist any attempt to organize a new imperialist intervention. They must oppose the racist propaganda that paints the Taliban as the product of “Islamic backwardness” instead of that of imperialism and intervention.
• No to imperialism, no to the Taliban.
30 August 2021
•对寻求避难或庇护的人不应有任何限制，并且必须为他们留下或搬迁到可能的地方提供足够的条件。
•必须通过当地人民组织提供援助，而不是阻止人道主义援助或将其用作与塔利班讨价还价的筹码。
•国际主义进步和激进力量必须努力与阿富汗进步组织建立联系，特别是支持阿富汗妇女组织的呼吁。
•这些力量必须抵制任何组织帝国主义新干涉的企图。他们必须反对将塔利班描绘成“伊斯兰落后”，而不是帝国主义和干涉的产物的种族主义宣传。
•既不要帝国主义，也不要塔利班。
2021年8月30日
第四国际执行局