Two falls. Two decades apart.
Two pictures, two decades apart yet two sides of same coin and linked to same series of events. One unfortunate person thought it was better to jump from floor 88 on the fateful day of 9/11 in 2001 and the other clinged to a US C-130 taking off from Kabul airport on 16th Aug 2021.
What would be the person who jumped from his floor 88 must have thought before taking the plunge? Perhaps that getting killed instantly through a fall over getting burnt alive was better? What did the person who ran on the tarmac chasing a plane taking off in seconds must have thought knowing fully well that he would never make it yet he decided to cling to it? Perhaps that it was better than staying back on land which was now taken over by Taliban?
What does it mean to the women and girls of Afghanistan?
When US military entered Afghanistan to oust Taliban in 2001 and the chief conspirator of the 9/11 attacks every sane person on planet fully backed the plan. Fast forward to 2021 and after spending over $2 Trillion of tax payer money, 241,000 dead people and 2442 dead US military personnels it took the Taliban less than 9 days with virtually no resistance to take over the entire country back!
Surely the $90 billion+ spent on training Afghan forces seems to have completely gone to the drain what a show of utter lack of planning and foresight in the hasty withdrawal of NATO forces.
Time will tell how this would further impact the already sensitive geo-political situation as China becomes one of the first countries to recognise the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, that is now under Sharia law.
Taliban officials have declared the war is over and it is in charge of 90% of government buildings.
