TEHRAN - Dogacan Basharan, a Turkish researcher, says the pullout of U.S. forces from Afghanistan shows that Washington has lost its cards in the country.

“It can be stated that the U.S. is on the losing side in Afghanistan. Therefore, the Washington administration is withdrawing from the aforementioned country,” Basharan tells the Tehran Times.

“The U.S. wants to get rid of the military cost of its existence in this country by withdrawing from Afghanistan,” he adds.

 While some American commentators talk about U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan over the past 20 years, ANKASAM international relations expert argues that “the USA is not disturbed by the scenario that the power vacuum will form after the withdrawal in Afghanistan resulting in a civil war. Because the Washington administration has a desire to destabilize the Central Asia-Russia line and Belt-Road Project route through Afghanistan.”

Following is the text of the interview:

Q: How do you assess the pullout of U.S. forces from Afghanistan after 20 years? Why did Biden consider talks about Afghanistan a sad topic?

A: For the United States of America (USA) the war in Afghanistan is no longer sustainable. Both the cost of the war and the result of the emerge from the end of the 20 years drew the reaction of the American public.

 In this environment, it can be stated that the U.S. is on the losing side in Afghanistan. Therefore, the Washington administration is withdrawing from the aforementioned country. 

The U.S. wants to get rid of the military cost of its existence in this country by withdrawing from Afghanistan. On the other hand, the USA is not disturbed by the scenario that the power vacuum will form after the withdrawal in Afghanistan resulting in a civil war. Because the Washington administration has a desire to destabilize the Central Asia-Russia line and Belt-Road Project route through Afghanistan.

Q: Which side do you think will take the control of Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal? Do you expect a civil war?

A: It is not possible that any power to control Afghanistan. There is a truth revealed by Afghan history. That is the aforementioned country cannot be controlled by foreign powers. The situation of the USA and the Soviet Union confirms this. In this environment, it is not possible to say that another country will control Afghanistan. Unfortunately, there is a risk of civil war. The inability to resolve the disagreement between the Taliban and Kabul administration and the preparations of warlords in the different regions point to the possibility of a civil war. But it cannot be asserted that a civil war will definitely break out. That would be very assertive. Because it is still not too late. There is a change in the peace process.

Q: How do you see the role of Afghanistan's neighbors after the U.S. withdrawal?

A: The main concern of regional states about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is that the radicalization, which is predicted to rise in the context of Afghanistan, will spread to their own lands.

The way to prevent this is through regional cooperation. The regional states should act together to prevent extra-regional intervention and support the peace process so that the Afghan people can live in peace as a prosperous society. 

In this sense, President of Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy Studies (ANKASAM) Prof. Dr. Mehmet Seyfettin Erol's analysis published on ANKASAM's website is very important. 

In this context, Erol’s proposal is to create a “6+1 Platform” consist of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. I believe that the aforementioned proposal is an important opportunity to open the door to peace.