Paulo Portas, the former Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs, believes that the Taliban’s advance in Afghanistan will have more consequence than a huge wave of Afghan refugees. For the former CDS leader, Europe will have to deal with an almost unprecedented political and social challenge.
“We may have a refugee crisis on our doorstep,” warned Paulo Portas in TVI’s usual commentary space, without concealing his concern about the combined effect of three factors: the role Turkey played in previous refugee crises; Historical difficulties in the relationship between the Erdogan regime and the European Union. And the absence of a leader like Angela Merkel, especially in the electoral climate in Germany.
The former deputy prime minister also lamented the “absolutely unstoppable” and “terrifying” advance of a “religious and extremist political organization on a state that did not exist before”.
Even arguing that the invasion of Afghanistan had clear advantages, as it allowed the capture of bin Laden and the halting of the export of al-Qaeda, Paulo Portas admitted that the operation failed in two structural aspects.
“It did not change the nature of the Afghan state, nor did it change the capacity of its security forces or the patriotism of its political elites,” he added.
Finally, Portas pointed the finger at Western forces, notably Donald Trump, who signed an agreement Controversial agreement with the Taliban. “Only he believed,” he joked.
Twenty years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, is the Taliban’s return to power inevitable?
