China: US pullout from Afghanistan proves failure of American practices

“The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan indicates that arbitrary military intervention in other countries, as well as the policy of imposing their own values and social system on other states, are doomed to failure,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a news briefing, Sputnik reported on Tuesday.

The last American soldiers departed Afghanistan on Monday, ending a war that had begun when the United States invaded Afghanistan and toppled a Taliban-run government in 2001. The US alleged at the time that the Taliban were harboring al-Qaeda, which had claimed responsibility for the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York.

The Taliban militants intensified their offensives and rapidly overran major cities in recent weeks as the United States started what was seen as a hasty withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan.

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, setting in motion the evacuation of thousands of Afghan and foreign civilians via the Kabul airport.

The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Monday that presses the Taliban to honor a commitment to letting people freely leave Afghanistan in the days ahead. It urged the group to grant access to the UN and other aid agencies as well.

Washington said it was disappointed that China and Russia abstained from voting on the resolution.

Wang on Monday stressed that the international community should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan.