Job de Hope Schaefer: ‘Biden did not accept responsibility’

This Monday is the G7 summit for further expulsion of Afghanistan from Kabul. Job de Hope Schaefer hopes President Biden will postpone the withdrawal of the U.S. military from the airport there. “But if you want to influence the Taliban regime, you need countries in the region like Pakistan and China. Only with the help of those countries will you allow the Taliban to postpone US troops after August 31.”

Cobalt, lithium and gold

The once powerful G7, which includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, desperately needs China’s help in this regard. De Hope Schaefer adds: “We can only show humility.” A new geopolitical balance will be created in which neighboring Pakistan, China and Russia will have a greater share. “These countries are interested in forming an inclusive government in which power does not rest solely with the Taliban. Other groups should be mentioned.

China wants to get cobalt, lithium and gold from Afghanistan and build a new Silk Road there. De Hope Schaefer: “They do not want Afghanistan to become a barbarian state again, a black hole where nothing is possible.” Moreover, he believes, the political opening for neighbors is not for the G7, but to strengthen ties with Afghanistan.

A new Afghanistan

“As Europe, we are no longer in the center of power, we are no longer in charge of the world,” the former NATO leader said. “Within the G7, Europe only plays a role in legitimate humanitarian support, but militarily we are a dwarf, we are undesirable minors.”

As the former Foreign Minister noted, as Europe we have become a so-called ‘soft power’ without a strong military, while at the same time unrest prevails on our borders and the rest of the world is becoming more and more ‘hard power’.

If we are not careful, European Afghanistan will be created in countries like Mali, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso in the Sahel region. A lot of people are forced to move because of terrorism, kidnappings and climate change. “If there’s a major crisis there in the future, we can no longer ring the bell at the White House and ask Biden for help.” Because, de Hope Schaefer warns, the United States is now focusing on the interests of Asia, not the interests of Europe anymore.