DANGEROUS LIAISONS

Yesterday's mayhem in Kabul did not come as a total surprise. The trap was laid for all to see. In deceitful calm or in chaos, terrorists thrive. 

Probably the Talibans are more shellshocked than the Americans. Both claimed control of sorts and seemed to obey a baffling mutually agreed understanding of laissez faire in the zones under their fragile control.

In this pair both are duped. It would be a supreme irony if both turned together against a third unknown (yet) party.  It happened before when the Americans armed the Mujadideen against the Russian occupation (remember Zbigniew Brzezinski at the Kyber Pass?). Cynicism is not in President Biden's DNA but desperate times make strange bedfellows and history is full of outre couplings.

The Ring of Evil goes from West Africa to Afghnaistan.  It looks like a ragtag but it is well organized with its interconnected communication and service apparatus. It tends to come out in given places and on given times when the logistics look advantageous. Kabul was not to be missed. The West is humiliated and the Talibans got a warning.

It is important that the West sticks together and avoids the blame game at all costs. The evildoers might even have achieved an undesirable outcome, obliging Russia and China i.a. to become more pro-active.

The EU should not play the "distant aloof partner" role and should openly support the American president and not give in to its more primitive anti-Americanism, which should remain burried forever. In private, questions should have been raised earlier when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ruled the lies. The public comments heard now in Brussels, NATO and the EU are mystifying... (a suivre).