After Afghanistan, where else will the Western powers turn to next? South China Sea?

Having “supervised” Afghanistan for two decades, the United States and its allies completely pulled out of the Central Asian country at 23:59 August 31, 2021. The overnight change of administration sent millions of pro-American Afghans fleeing for their lives. It was said that what happened in that country was the most massive unplanned exodus the world had seen since the second world war, some falling off the aircraft wings.

The Taliban religious radicals who managed to recapture the administration made a victorious return to the core of power.

Perhaps we would just leave it to history to evaluate who the heroes or villains were, but what we are quite sure is that innocent Afghan women will be the first to suffer under the “new” Taliban regime.

I can still recall on the day the September 11 attacks took place, I was at Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo, at 20:46 JST to be exact. The TV program was abruptly interrupted by a Hollywood-like scene: a civilian aircraft hit straight at the 110-story North Tower of New York’s iconic World Trade Center, followed by a massive explosion. Could that be an air crash?

Minutes later at 21:03, another civilian aircraft pounded the South Tower! I was wondering whether there was something wrong with my eyes, as these were New York’s landmark twin towers! I quickly switched to the other channels for verification and confirmed that the disastrous incident was real!

According to news reports, it was a terror attack of unidentifiable source. As if that’s not enough, a black colour object suddenly fell from a window high up, followed by loud thuds with the floor tainted with human blood, stunning the TV anchor and viewers worldwide.

The tragic drama did not end just there. At 21:37, another civilian aircraft darted towards the Pentagon. Then US president George W Bush yelled in anger aboard Air Force One that the enemies were striking within the country!

He then ordered an immediate strike back. 10:03 US EST, flight UA93 was cruising at low altitudes towards Washington DC, and the president ordered it shot down. The plane eventually crashed in the woods in Pennsylvania, all 44 passengers, including four hijackers, killed.

It was reported that the hijacked plane’s target could be the White House or one of the capital’s highrise clusters.

In the end, the toll of the entire September 11 attacks stood at 2,996, including 19 terrorists.

Washington classified the incident as a “terrorist war” and swore to revenge the masterminds behind the attacks.

Weirdly, with its highly sophisticated security networks, how could Washington not know about the terrorists who had been lurking in the country for so many years as well as their painstakingly designed plans? What happened to the FBI and CIA? And how did the suicide attackers get their civil aviation licenses and hit the most elite part of New York City practically unhindered?

No one knew who started it all. Back then Washington pointed the finger at Osama bin Laden, Afghanistan’s Taliban leader. But we all know what happened next. US and its EU allies launched their “anti-terror” offensives against Afghanistan, taking down Bin Laden and the Taliban administration and installing a puppet government until their pullout after 20 years.

Some big shot has said the world is big enough to accommodate everyone and everything, but sadly the reality is a far cry from such a noble aspiration.

Since very young we have been hoping that our world could be a haven of peace where people from all nations could mingle happily. Unfortunately things have gotten from bad to worse these years. As a matter of fact, this planet of ours has never had a day completely devoid of wars, hunger, virus…

After Afghanistan, where else will the Western powers turn to next? South China Sea?

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(Lee San is Founder and Group Executive Chairman of Apple Vacations. He has travelled to 132 countries, six continents, and enjoys sharing his travel stories and insights. He has also authored five books.)