If the Afghanistan pullout has been a disaster for the U.S., its European allies arguably have suffered even greater ignominy. At least the superpower is an actor: It makes its own decisions, and it could, at least theoretically, make different ones if its leadership wanted to — at comparable and bearable cost. The Europeans have pretty much lacked agency since the beginning of the crisis, mainly because of domestic political issues and a paralysis of will. At the same time, the political and economic costs of failure are higher for them than for the U.S.: It’s much easier for Afghan refugees to reach Europe than North America.
Afghanistan
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Leonid Bershidsky: Europe’s Afghanistan failure is worse than America’s
A handout picture released by the British Ministry of Defence on Aug. 24, 2021 and taken on Aug. 22, 2021 shows members of the UK Armed Forces during the operation to support the evacuation of British nationals and entitled personel at Kabul airport in Afghanistan.
