The collapse of Afghanistan has sent a bad signal to the other allies of the United States and has also derailed the trust on other America-backed institutions

What shocked the world most was the eventual collapse of the whole Afghan civilian administration after just a week in charge following the United States' withdrawal, the return of the Taliban even made it complicated when the group has slowly revealed its terror-based medieval ideology to rule Afghanistan once it came back to power in Kabul. Afghanistan was led by a civilian, but highly ineffective government, built by the United States.

The devastation was beyond just military use - but it is also far worse. It's about the United States' honour suffered a fatal blow. Joe Biden, a protégé of Barack Obama and was expected to deliver a mission to recover the U.S. from the destructive policies of Donald Trump, saw his popularity plummeted. Many allies began to realise something, which is painful, also what Russia and China wanted to tell them for a long time: the U.S. is not trustworthy at all. This is creating a huge emotional and political crisis that has never been experienced before for all of America's allies. But what has gone wrong?

Ill-prepared for a change

Throughout the Cold War, the United States supported several anti-communist governments across the world to fend off the expansionist Soviet Union. Allies of the United States included Western Europe and right-wing military juntas across the world. In the early phase, the United States was led by a visionist leader, Harry S. Truman, who foresaw a potential conflict with the USSR and advised the United States to provide honest supports for its partners. The United States actively backed Western European leaders' decision to form the European Coal and Steel Community - the predecessor of the European Union. The United States also provided support for the Republic of Korea, or South Korea, to stand against China and North Korea.

This proved to be a major success, but from the mid-1950s, the United States was poorly prepared for new, rapid development. The world was heading to multilateral relations and nationalism has been rising in many countries that used to be colonies of the Western empires. One of the best examples was Vietnam, the Southeast Asian nation that sought to free itself from the fist of France - one of America's long-standing allies. And that was when the United States' mistakes began to unravel.

A resettled village backed by the United States in South Vietnam.

During 1944-45, the United States agents that came from China encountered their Vietnamese allies in the war against Japan. One of the men in this scheme was Ho Chi Minh, who sought a friendly relationship with the United States, hoping Washington would uphold the honour. But F. D. Roosevelt, President of the U.S. at the time, died in April 1945, and Truman did not bother the call. After seeing this coming, Ho Chi Minh imposed authoritarian communist rule, though remained hostile to Soviet and Chinese influences as he saw them untrustworthy for Vietnamese independence. Indeed, the United States had missed an opportunity to settle out: instead, the country turned Vietnam into a battle zone by pumping supports for the French colonisers, effectively boosted Ho Chi Minh's popularity. When France lost in 1954, the United States installed a corrupt dictator of the Catholic faith in the fear of communist expansion, but the dictator did more harm than good for the development of the Vietnamese people. Repeated coups since 1963 did little to improve, and South Vietnam was left demoralised by the time the American troops stopped making presence in 1973. Without American support, the more superior but ill-trained ARVN lost to the communists in 1975. In the end, unified communist Vietnam instead, turned its gun against China and disdained Russia for not providing support in the 1979-89 war.

That's not the only case in the 20th century. The United States' backed dictators like Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (today DR Congo), Augusto Pinochet in Chile, the Mexican revolutionary military government, to even Haiti, Colombia, Egypt and Somalia, most of them got turned into messes. Yet the United States didn't pay attention to how corrupt their allies were. Except for the future EU and South Korea, only a few of them truly functioned as effective governments.

But the Cold War mentality did not change due to the fall of the Soviet Union - and this would prove to be detrimental for American power.

Throughout the 1990s in Russia, the country was in shamble due to oppressive Soviet rule. The United States, instead, provided support for Boris Yeltsin, who was seen as the closest ally of the United States in the history of Russia.

Boris Yeltsin in the White House, 1995.

And we all know the outcome. Yeltsin did nothing to improve the life of the Russian people, while at the same time he made Russia a joke for the world. His visit to the United States, where he gained headline for his underpants appearance, had been described by many Russians as clear evidence of how the United States insulted Russia. Yeltsin's successor, also his protégé, Vladimir Putin, after seeing the miseries, vowed revenge. This mistake, yet, is poorly mentioned in the States, with little to no Americans ever remember about Yeltsin's clownish government ruled Russia from 1992-2000. This did usher the space of Putin's determination: he invaded Chechnya in 1999, destroyed the Ichkerian republic. Later, he invaded Georgia and Ukraine, militarily take part in Syria. Despite all of the United States' attempts to portray Putin as an autocratic leader and economic mismanagement, he remains highly popular in Russia. Moreover, he succeeded in using the 2018 FIFA World Cup as propaganda to portray the other Russia that America "did not want you to see". The United States did not even qualify for this tournament, sadly.

Then, the United States invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, in 2001 and 2003, with the aims to topple terrorist regimes of Taliban and Saddam Hussein. Instead, it led to a greater vacuum in power, and the U.S.' reconstruction efforts were led by sectarian groups, similar to the likes that used to dominate South Vietnam. This, in turn, ensured the dooms of the two nations once the Americans abandoned their countries: one effectively collapsed when the Taliban resurface; one collapsed to the Islamic State and was later used as a puppet for Iranian interests. In 2008, Kosovo, a separate region that Serbia considered as historically important due to a famous battle back in 1389, was recognised independent by the United States, and the U.S. poured billions of dollars to build Kosovo - but what Washington got is increasing corruption, mismanagement, and economic deterioration - Kosovo has become a hotbed of terrorism, mafia criminal activities, and loundering capital of Europe. This also greatly affects Albania, which considered Kosovo as its close brother due to common ethnic and linguistic links - Albania, another American ally, is also notorious for being one of Europe's most corrupt countries. Currently, the messes are being revealed in Ukraine and Georgia - throughout American corporations, these countries' economic situations have seen little improvement, and like Kosovo, widespread corruption. The only thing that sticks Ukraine and Georgia with America is common resentment against Russia.

Trump revealed all

Hilariously, Americans still thought their political system was perfect, until 2016 when Donald Trump came to Presidency. His arrival bore similarities to Yeltsin - both backed by foreign powers (Russia and Israel), both have no experience in politics, both behave like clowns.

The biggest nightmare of the United States had arrived. After only four years in charge, the United States lost much of its credibility. He engaged in trade wars; openly confronted the European Union and was reluctant to impose sanctions on Russia. In fact, Trump saw Kim Jong-un, Putin, Mohammed bin Salman and Xi Jinping his role model to become an authoritarian leader. Trump also abandoned the traditional call for human rights, best seen with the murder of Jamal Khashoggi being snubbed by Trump to support the Saudi war in Yemen. Worse, Trump was responsible for the negotiation with the Taliban in Afghanistan, an act that was later contributed to Biden's mishandling in 2021. When the coronavirus pandemic broke out in 2020, the United States jumped to become the worst-hit and worst-fatalities in the world - Trump openly downplayed the pandemic and harmed the vaccination campaign.

Yet Russia, maybe China, wanted more from Trump's Presidency - Trump would not just only humiliate the States, but also uncover the darker side of the country: a nation that doesn't care about allies and its own people. Putin got the desirable: Trump did what he wanted. A lot of American officials, the majority of them Republicans, did not have interests in the other countries: they only see them as slaves. Trump told about Sweden's migrant crisis, his supporters echoed the words. Trump also encouraged racial-based sectarian division, and many Americans followed the same pattern, demonstrating the U.S. as a racist society in contrast to the "American Dream". In the end, Trump also revealed that America was, and is always a hypocrite: human rights are a sham show; benefits are eternal; American stationed its troops only because of interests; that the United States was behind widespread violence in Ukraine, Georgia and other countries.

Trump was beaten by Joe Biden in 2020, but his damage was done. Biden's struggle to rebuild the United States was met with fierce resistance from the Trump-based Republicans, resulting in difficulties to pass enormous economic reforms to catch up. Yet it was Afghanistan that finally rang the bell: the shock collapse of Afghanistan to the Taliban was celebrated by dictators, who pointed about American hypocrisies, especially those in Myanmar, Turkey, Venezuela, Belarus, Pakistan and North Korea, outside China and Russia. The Burmese Generals even made headlines congratulated the Taliban, warning the protesters fighting against their regime about the future of being an American puppet. In the shockwave, British Parliament, as well as others, have started to discuss the future of aligning with the United States as they could no longer believe in American words, regardless of Democrats or Republicans. Worse, various factions within the allies are looking to reconcile with China and Russia, blaming the United States for failure to do something. Saudi Arabia, for example, has signed a new military agreement with Russia in a move to drift further away from Washington.

For Ukraine, Georgia and Kosovo, the collapse of Afghanistan was a fatal blow for these nations. The Ukrainian government has become increasingly corrupt despite efforts to clean out, and Zelensky has stopped short of making any comments about this. Many Ukrainians have become increasingly pessimistic: if the United States-backed allies collapse so fast, then what was the point of fighting Russia with America? In Georgia, the Georgian public has become greatly insecure about the future of relations with Russia, now that the United States has revealed itself incapable, note that Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia are still on the Russian hand. Kosovo, on the other hand, remains deplorable, poorly governed with very dismal armed forces, having lost much of Turkish support due to Ankara's closer tie with Serbia.

Meanwhile, the fall of Afghanistan provided evidence for autocrats of Poland, Turkey, Hungary to follow: both are usurpers rebelling against the NATO and European Union, and the two latter have even advocated closer ties with Russia. Poland's case is complicated due to its tensions with Russia in the past, but the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) has been copying more and more of Putin's tactics to govern the country, much to the dismay of Polish people who now referring PiS a Putinist in disguise.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Órban in a rally in Budapest, 2015.

In Romania and Bulgaria, the feeling of nostalgia for the old-time has emerged, when these countries have been among the EU's most corrupt. During the 2018-20 protests against Boyko Borisov in Bulgaria, many Bulgarians had accused the United States and the EU of doing nothing to pressure Borisov's regime, that the U.S. and EU were complicit together in galvanising corruption of Borisov's government, further revealing the rift between the United States and its allies. Even far more stable nations like Slovenia and Slovakia are also seeing the rapid arrival of new authoritarian-like leaders Janez Janša and Robert Fico.

Unrest in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially in Chile, Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia and Colombia, also bring out America's inabilities to speak in favour of the people. These nations have followed American diplomacies by most, except for some communist-aligned; but when the U.S. sought to support, they backed wrong people and wrong systems. Notably in Chile, where dissatisfaction against Pinochet's remnant influence created widespread protests in 2019; the United States had stayed silent.

Even U.S.-backed or allied institutions are also facing a decline in popularity. A notable case is WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency). It was only by pressure from the U.S. that Russia was banned from using the flag to represent the Olympics and World Cup until 2022, with approval from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). However, WADA and IOC have done nothing to provide aids for Afghan athletes when the Taliban took over, forcing them to seek safe routes by American warplanes, effectively downgraded the organisations' status and further bolster the view that WADA and IOC only act in American benefits. During the visit to Russia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had to urge Russia to halt the Taliban's expansion, with a potential concede: lifting economic sanctions and somewhat the ban against Russia by WADA and IOC, which have been greatly weakened due to its inabilities to help athletes in Afghanistan and Myanmar (a Burmese swimmer even accused the IOC and WADA of allowing the junta-based athletes to take part in Tokyo 2020). FIFA and UEFA have also rebuffed American claims about Russia's doping allegation, instead of permitting Russia to take part with a different flag and name. American schools across the world are also facing a major crisis due to their failures to recommend the American Hope and Dream that once shaped America's political power.

How will the U.S. rally for the future?

I don't think what happened in Afghanistan will be forgotten foremost, and unlikely will it be. The United States will definitely have a hard time regaining what it has lost. The downfall of Republican and Democratic political schemes are the result of lacking any visions against the autocratic regimes of Russia and China. By prioritising loyalty first, the United States has turned blind eyes to its own allies' violation against human beings. This has been something Russia and China long waiting for.

If the United States wants a better future and respect, it needs to get rid of the current two-party system and allowing new, younger candidates of others than Democrats and Republicans, to lead the United States. It also needs to address within the country: rotten infrastructures, low development and inabilities to follow and accept the new world. Upholding human rights may not be the right solution right now, but rather, America must emphasise stabilities and prosperities if she wants to combat the rise of China and Russia.

How will the U.S. move with it, yet, is uncertain. I don't see the United States will change immediately. Too many lobbying forces in the United States only care about a certain subject and not the whole country. The old guards are also a headache since they are benefitted from the inept system. I used to be hopeful about Joe Biden; but with what has been seen in Afghanistan, I can only come out with a sad description: the United States, no matter which parties, is still the same, and will learn nothing before too little, too late.