CARBONDALE, Ill. (WSIL) -- A political analyst at SIU-Carbondale called the events in Afghanistan a 'worst case scenario.'
Following 20-years of intervention, U.S. intelligence underestimated the Taliban's grip on the country, according to John Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. Shaw says the events lead to an international debacle for the U.S. and an embarrassing international episode. And there's plenty of blame to go around, Shaw says.
One item Shaw pointed out was the Taliban peace agreement President Donald Trump signed which planted the seeds for the Taliban takeover. Ultimately, Shaw says, Afghanistan's seizure hurts the Biden Administration's legacy along with lawmakers who failed to learn from previous failures.
Shaw believes the U.S. should shift its focus towards repairing an international reputation that 'looks bad' to the rest of the globe. Shaw says the event proves that the U.S. should've stayed out of Afghanistan instead of looking to take action following the September 11 attacks.
"Don't get bogged down in Afghanistan. History shows that an invading power will not win," Shaw said.
But Shaw believes the U.S. should use the event to unite lawmakers on modern challenges like cyberterrorism, the rise of China and developing an economy to benefit the middle class.
"The one good thing that could come out of this is to just get American policymakers more focused on the big strategic challenges of the 21st century," Shaw said.
