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The “loser superpower”

August 22, 2017 | Expert Insights

Russian Senators have publicly deemed US’ war in Afghanistan a failure and called on the US to withdraw its troops.

One Senator has even labelled the US a “loser superpower” for its perceived failure.

Background

Relations between US and Russia have been tense in the recent years. US has accused Russia of having tampered in the 2016 Presidential elections. Even though US President Donald Trump has sought to thaw the relations, it has been met with little success. In July 2017, US lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to impose harsh sanctions on Russia for its alleged role. The sanctions would hit Russia’s energy sector. They also undercut the President’s power to rescind the sanctions. The President reluctantly signed the Bill.

In retaliation, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that 755 US diplomats would have to leave their positions in Russia by September 1, 2017. Vladimir Putin, has admitted that it will be a while before relations between the nations becomes better.  

The war in Afghanistan is the longest war America has waged. The conflict began in 2001 and its goal was to root out Taliban from the region. However, despite billions of dollars having been spent, the war has continued to this day with no set deadline for its end. Additionally, the Taliban and other militant forces have continued their operations as well.

Analysis

The harshest criticism for America was levelled by Russian Senator Aleksey Pushkov. Soon after Trump announced that the Afghanistan war will continue, Pushkov took to Twitter to note, “George Bush Junior started the war, Barack Obama promised to end it but never did it. As a result, President Donald Trump has been left with a disaster on his hands. Loser superpower.”

Andrey Klimov, the deputy head of the Russian upper house Committee for International Affairs, has also condemned the war as a failure. He said, “Quite some time ago is became clear that the anti-terrorist operation conducted by the US and NATO in Afghanistan is ineffective, but in the course of this operation the flow of illegal drugs into Russia has increased many-fold, according to some estimations even 100-fold.”

Klimov has noted that an increased presence of America in the region would lead to more problems for Russia. He added that Russia will be seeking to curtail America’s military presence in Afghanistan despite announcements from Washington. He added, “All this calls for a reaction and the first statements made on the subject reveal that Russia intends to use political and diplomatic means to prevent this gray spreading of the US military presence in Afghanistan.”

Assessment

Our assessment is that the conflict brewing between America and Russia will play out in different parts of the world. Russian leaders have already signaled that they will be opposing America’s action in Afghanistan. By bluntly calling America a “loser”, Russia is no longer hiding under the pretense of diplomacy.   

Read more:

755 US diplomats ousted

 

US sanctions on Russia?