Taliban fighters, wielding American weapons, equipment and uniforms, storm into the airport to secure the premises and inspect the equipment left behind after the U.S. troops withdrawal, in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 31, 2021. /Getty
Editor's note: The U.S. started the Afghan war in 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It ended the war irresponsibly 20 years later. Why did the Taliban return and what is the future of Afghanistan? We compiled a list of viewpoints from our commentators. The article reflects the experts' views and not necessarily those of CGTN.
编者按：美国在2001年“9·11”恐怖袭击后发动阿富汗战争。20年后，它以不负责任的方式结束了这场战争。塔利班为何能够回归？阿富汗的未来路在何方？本文综合各方观点，不代表CGTN立场。
On August 30, General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, announced that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan has been completed, ending 20 years of U.S. military occupation. Although it is a "mission accomplished" for the U.S. military, many see it as a "mission failed."
8月30日，美军中央司令部司令肯尼思·麦肯齐将军宣布，美军已完成从阿富汗撤出的任务。这结束了美国长达近20年的军事占领。虽然这对美军而言“任务完成”，但在许多人看来，其实是 “任务失败”。
Ever since the Taliban took over Kabul, the blame has been put mainly on the U.S. for the ensuing chaos. The situation unfolded so fast that even the quickest decision-makers in Afghanistan did not know how to respond. Some surrendered to the Taliban and others simply fled, leaving a disorderly and unprepared nation for its own people.
自塔利班重返喀布尔之后，人们把随之而来的乱局主要归咎于美国。局势发展如此之快，让阿富汗的决策者都不知该如何应对。一些人向塔利班倒戈投降，另一些人则干脆逃之夭夭，让民众在一个毫无秩序、毫无准备的国家里自生自灭。
People began to ask: Why did the Taliban return, and what is now the future of Afghanistan?
人们不禁要问：塔利班为何已回归？阿富汗未来的路又在何方？
U.S. as the main cause of the mess
美国是阿富汗乱局的主因
After U.S. President Joe Biden declared the withdrawal deadline, clouds of uncertainty began hovering over everyone that got the message. The only thing certain in all this mess was the decision itself – the irresponsible withdrawal of U.S. troops. It is them who declared a war two decades ago after 9/11 terrorist attacks to fight against the Taliban. It is also them who tried to end the war to leave the situation to the Taliban. Moreover, it may still be them who would like to cooperate with the Taliban to stabilize the situation.
在美国总统拜登宣布撤军的最后期限之后，听闻这则消息的人都感受到了不确定性。唯一确定的是，乱局的根源是美国不负责任的撤军决定。20年前，“9·11”恐怖袭击事件发生后，是美国发动了反恐战争，出兵阿富汗与塔利班作战。如今，又是美国试图结束战争，把阿富汗乱局留给塔利班。此外，为稳定阿富汗局势，美国或依然愿意同塔利班合作。
Anthony Moretti, an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership of Robert Morris University, questions whether the Americans will learn from this. In his article, "Will America learn from Afghanistan? Doubtful," he points out that it is a ridiculous story with no end.
罗伯特·莫里斯大学传播和组织领导学院副教授安东尼·莫雷蒂怀疑美国人会否吸取教训。在文章《美国会吸取阿富汗教训吗？值得怀疑》中，他指出，这是一个没完没了的荒谬故事。
Will the U.S. be responsible for this war? Keith Lamb, a commentator who graduated from the University of Oxford does not think so. In his article, he argues the U.S. would act like it would do in any other war: by "playing the victim card, divorcing itself from any responsibility for future terrorist events, while simultaneously providing terrorists with covert support."
美国会对这场战争负责吗？毕业于牛津大学的评论员基思·兰姆并不这么认为。他在文章中表示，美国会像在任何战争中一样，“把自己伪装成受害者，秘密支持恐怖分子的同时，撇清自己与任何恐怖事件的联系。”
If the U.S. never learns, then would its allies learn? Maybe. Economic affairs commentator Huang Yongfu expressed his perspective in the article, "Allies sweat over American's Afghanistan withdrawal." He says America's European allies would have to turn the cooperation tide, especially commercial links to China, and many more countries in Southeast Asia would look to China for their prosperity.
如果美国不吸取教训，那么其盟友会不会明白些什么呢？也许。经济事务评论员黄永富在《盟友为美国的阿富汗撤军行动焦虑不安》一文中指出，如此一来，美国的欧洲盟友就不得不扭转合作方向，加强同中国的经贸合作，而东南亚的许多国家也会寻求对华合作，共谋繁荣发展。
Rebuilding Afghanistan through cooperation
各国合作重建阿富汗
The Americans started a mess and left a mess in Afghanistan. To rebuild and invest in the nation, first and foremost, the Taliban need to fix this mess. Afghanistan needs a safe and peaceful environment.
美国人以乱局开始、以乱局结束。各国在重建阿富汗社会和投资阿富汗之前，塔利班应先治理乱局，营造一个安全、和平的环境。
Amir Saib Zada counts money in front of customers at his store that sells luggage and burkas in the Lycee Maryam Bazaar in the Khair Khana neighborhood, Kabul, Afghanistan, August 22, 2021. /Getty
Above all, the Afghan people know their own nation the best. Asif Durrani, former Pakistani ambassador to Iran and the UAE and a deputy head of mission in Kabul from 2005 to 2009, reminds us how the Western narrative has not changed after all these chaotic years. "It may sound bizarre to Western scholars. Still, the Taliban lived with the Pashtun code of honor – the Pashtunwali – a code calling upon a Pashtun to be hospitable (melmastia), protect his honor (ghairat) and take revenge (badal) on his enemy."
毕竟，阿富汗人民最了解祖国。前巴基斯坦驻伊朗及阿联酋大使阿西夫·杜拉尼曾于2005至2009年间担任驻阿富汗喀布尔使团副团长。他提醒我们，阿富汗乱局持续多年之后，西方的叙事方式表明他们并未吸取教训。“在西方学者看来，这可能听起来有些奇怪。但是，塔利班仍然严格遵守着普什图人的荣誉准则——普什图瓦里——这一准则要求普什图人热情好客、捍卫荣誉、对敌复仇。”
Hujjatullah Zia, a journalist and senior writer at Daily Outlook Afghanistan, observes the new situation after the Western occupation as some fear that women's rights may deteriorate under the Taliban takeover. He argued that one needed to have new insight into the new Taliban. "The Taliban fear being sidelined at the international level and not recognized by world powers. With this in mind, the Taliban are likely to show flexibility regarding women's rights and freedoms and seek to include Afghan officials and warlords in the next administration."
阿富汗《每日瞭望》的记者兼高级撰稿人胡贾图拉·齐亚密切关注西方结束占领后的新局面。有人担心在塔利班统治下妇女权利会恶化。他认为，人们需要用与之前不同的眼光看待新一代塔利班。“塔利班担心在国际上遭到排挤，不被大国所承认。考虑到这一点，塔利班有可能在妇女权利和自由方面灵活施政，并尝试将前阿富汗政府官员和军阀纳入新组建的政府。”
However, to reform the way of governing and cooperate with the new world, Taliban would not be able to do it by themselves, nor could it be done by the Americans as the past two decades suggest. It needs to be done by multilateral cooperation of all parties in Afghanistan as well as all neighboring countries.
不过，要改革治理方式并在新形势下同世界各国合作，塔利班仅凭一己之力恐怕不行。过去20年的经验表明，美国也无法单独胜任。要想实现重建阿富汗的目标，社会各界及其邻国需要多边合作。
Bobby Naderi, a London-based journalist and documentary filmmaker, urges all sides to rebuild Afghanistan in a creative way. He argues that the U.S. should consider rebuilding Afghanistan with its neighbors and their creative nation-building initiative.
驻伦敦记者和纪录片制作人鲍比·纳德瑞敦促各方以创造性的方式重建阿富汗。他认为美国应该考虑让阿富汗同邻国合作，通过借鉴各国创造性的国家建设方针以重建阿富汗。
Haider Rifaat, a features writer from Pakistan, suggests maybe China can do better with nation building as the Chinese have often shown the world great infrastructure development capability. He observes, "Unlike the U.S., the Chinese government assisted Afghanistan in the past without intervening in the country's political affairs. In the near future, China could work towards the socioeconomic growth of Afghanistan by providing financial assistance to rebuild the country's economy, explore pathways of developing infrastructure and educational institutions, and contribute vastly toward the health sector, therefore ushering in a new era of change for the Afghans."
巴基斯坦特稿撰写人海德尔·里法特建议，也许中国能够帮助阿富汗更好地建设国家，因为中国经常向世人展示出强大的基建能力。他说：“与美国不同，中国政府曾向阿富汗提供援助，而且没有干预阿富汗内部事务。也许在将来，中国可以通过提供财政援助来重建阿富汗经济，探索发展基础设施和教育机构的途径，并为其卫生部门的建设做出巨大贡献，从而为阿富汗开创崭新变革时代，促进该国经济社会发展。”
Although China is willing to play a role in rebuilding one of its neighboring nations, the future should still be in the hands of the Afghan people. Stephen Ndegwa, a Nairobi-based communication expert, author and international affairs columnist, shared his thought on broader cooperation with the Western world of rebuilding the nation: "The narrative that Afghanistan cannot be ruled by its own citizens like other civilized nations can no longer hold as the truth is now out for all to see."尽管中国愿意在邻国阿富汗的重建过程中扮演重要角色，但阿富汗的未来仍应掌握在阿富汗人民手中。驻内罗毕传播学专家、作家和国际事务专栏作者史蒂芬·恩代格瓦分享了他对阿富汗与西方国家合作重建国家的看法。“有人说阿富汗不能像其他文明国家一样由自己的公民主宰，这是不真实的，因为事实就在眼前。”
After 9/11, the Americans dragged the Afghans into chaos. The most powerful nation in the world proved to be the least responsible. Who would lead the Afghans to peace? Of course, not America. Or not America alone. Cooperation is needed to sow the seeds of permanent peace in this war-torn nation for decades to come. Not only the Americans need to learn it, but also the Taliban.
“9·11”事件之后，美国的行动让阿富汗陷入一片混乱。事实证明，世界上最强大的国家成了最不负责任的国家。谁将率领阿富汗人走向和平呢？当然不会是美国，或者说不单单是美国。为了让该国在未来几十年里拥有长久的和平，各国需要播下合作的种子。不仅美国人需要吸取教训，塔利班也一样。
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