Afghanistan Times
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Joe Biden, 77, was elected as 46th President of the United States, in a large distance of votes from President Trump after a controversial race. Soon after Biden was declared winner, Trump dug in for a fight. Whatever is the reaction, Trump apparently refuses to confess his defeat, rare in the US democratic history with already despondent Trump supporters say they can’t accept Biden-Harris win. American officials call on Trump to accept the reality. Biden urged unity and promised a new day for American in his first national address. Biden’s accent was more on changing hearts in a country split down the middle between Democrats and Republicans. It was a bitter election midst of a raging coronavirus pandemic. Till now, at least 237,000 Americans lost their lives battling the virus under Trump’s erratic leadership. The American people showed extreme courage to come out in millions to vote despite millions of positive infections. This should be respected. Their guts are worthy of appreciation. They also exemplified a great scenario of unification. Biden said he would make America respected around the world again – a reference to Trump’s tearing up of traditional diplomatic ties. The world leaders, including Afghans have begun congratulating Biden, and expectation is that he should come to the fore with a different approach and strategy. However, Biden has remained a controversial figure and had no words about Afghanistan during his electoral campaign, could likely bring no wide-ranging political change in Afghanistan. He also once said Afghanistan cannot become a united nation. It was a terrible remark indeed. We are one united nation despite being at war for over four decades – we are still one nation with one flag and one president. But as he called for unity and healing, Afghanistan can pin hopes on Biden as he earlier explicitly said that America cannot lose in Afghanistan and that means he has a clear approach to deal with the Taliban to end the war. The Afghans hope his administration’s policy entirely focuses on bringing peace and stability. Biden could likely stick to the peace talks with the Taliban – also consider a small number of residual troops in the country. But unlike Trump he will do all this in a responsible way. Biden is not a big fan of Afghanistan, he once signaled zero troop presence, but he will definitely listen to the US allies with close watch on the ground reality to prevent another 9/11-like attack.
