Imperial robbery

The subjugation of one nation by another, colonialism, takes on various forms and shapes throughout history. The objectives of colonialist nations may vary according to the socio-spatial environment, but in all cases there is a central objective common to all these countries: the pursuit of the wealth of the colonized nations. From the colonialism of the 14th and 17th centuries, with Europeans invading the "new world," to the neo-colonialists of the 19th and 20th centuries, partitioning Africa and Asia with the ethnocentric legitimation of the Berlin Conference (1884-1885), the dominant nations violently imposed their cultures and stole the wealth of the dominated nations. However, these characteristics did not end with the end of the "Cold War," the decolonization of the 20th century, or the beginning of a new world order; in fact, these characteristics have expanded and reformulated themselves. Neoliberal colonialism, which emerged after the division of the world and is led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and, primarily, the United States (USA), is renewing its colonies and expropriating their wealth. The prime example is Afghanistan, even after the US withdrawal from the country.

The capture of Kabul 

On August 15, 2021, Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, was taken by the Taliban, and the event symbolically showed the world that they were controlling the country once again. After the Islamic nationalists arrived in the city, the population panicked and desperately tried to leave the country; photos at the airports and of the chaos in the city express this feeling. The Islamic group had not been in Kabul since 2001, when they were defeated by the US in its "War on Terror," and when they returned to the city, they put into practice their old, distorted, and authoritarian version of Islam. All this historical and social unfolding was only possible because, in April 2021, Joe Biden, the US president, moved forward with the withdrawal of troops from the country, a plan conceived during the Donald Trump administration (2017-2021); the occupation of the country lacked internal and external support, with numerous nations condemning it, which is why the Biden administration proceeded with the withdrawal. The withdrawal occurred as planned, but the lack of planning and execution generated risks for both the Americans and the country's own population. However, if we compare it to the withdrawal from Vietnam, the country was extremely harmed in the geopolitical scenario, perhaps the main defeat, and in its zones of influence, unlike the withdrawal from Saigon where the Americans had a consolation prize for the rapprochement with China during the Nixon administration (1969-1974). Furthermore, the occupation left numerous contradictions and criticisms of the two decades of American presence in the country, two of which stand out: first, from a socioeconomic standpoint, the country was left in ruins and worse off than twenty years earlier, while the military-industrial complex reveled in billions of dollars spent on the war; second, from an ideological standpoint, the false peacekeeping role of the US, since the Taliban took over the country in a matter of days and showed that it was stronger and more popular than two decades earlier – it even seemed as if they hadn't fought a war with the West. Therefore, we ask: what was the objective of the occupation? Not even the Americans themselves know, much less the Afghans, but we know that bringing democracy, freedom, and peace has never been a priority – in fact, this only exists in sensationalist American narratives. The occupation of the country and the empire's actions reinforce the thesis of critics of its foreign policy: that the country does not care about the population of the dominated nations, but rather about the profits of pro-war corporations and their oligarchies.

Theft and famine: common practices in the politics of empires.

Even after leaving the country in ruins and worse off than twenty years ago, Joe Biden unilaterally decided to freeze $7 billion belonging to the Afghan people. The US government said it would distribute this money to American victims of 9/11; this distribution would return to the US state at the end of the economic cycle and indirectly benefit the Afghans without going through the Taliban – impossible. In addition to this coercive distribution of money, the American government is imposing brutal sanctions on the country and preventing it from developing its productive forces, further exacerbating the chaotic situation. These actions have generated international outrage and led numerous countries to denounce the US government, appealing for the money to be returned and for the country's development not to be hindered. The consequences, which we can call genocidal, of these actions have been the expansion of supply shortages in the country and a further worsening of the quality of life for the Afghan people. Deborah Lyons, the UN representative in Afghanistan, said that these actions could cause a structural problem that will extend for generations – in a country where half the population already suffers from acute hunger, according to the United Nations (UN). Russia, China, Pakistan, other nations, and many US congressmen themselves denounce this attitude of the Biden administration, but, as history shows us, famine in other nations does not move the US and the West. There are famine genocides in Yemen, committed by the disgusting alliance between Saudi Arabia, Western powers, and allies in the region, and in various African countries for decades, committed by countries that are part of the Western influence, which do not cause concern to Washington and even turn a blind eye to the agents of chaos involved. 

Therefore, “Uncle Sam,” like the modern mercantile and imperialist states of the 14th and 17th centuries, also follows the main objective of the playbook for the domination of a country: the theft of its riches. “Civilizing,” in the eugenic interpretation of the term, or “bringing Western values,” are merely political discourses that serve to please the ego of American exceptionalism; what American power actually seeks is to please the corporations that govern its flawed republic. Afghanistan was invaded because of a group of individuals, mostly from Saudi Arabia, who committed crimes in other countries; the country was occupied for two decades, left to decay, and ranked highly in poverty and hunger, being considered the poorest country in the world by the UN; after all that, the country was looted and betrayed. The world transforms, but empires do not.