Yusef Jalali
Press TV, Tehran
A year ago, the United States marked a chaotic end to 20 years of war in Afghanistan following a hurried pullout of troops that saw the Taliban reclaiming power in the country. Here in Tehran, Iranian officials and political analysts sat together to discuss different aspects of the incident.
They regard Washington's hurried exit as an escape from the Afghan quagmire, after it failed to achieve its geo-strategic objectives there.
Last year in late August, the US evacuated thousands of troops from Afghanistan in just a few days, following President Joe Biden’s order to exit fully by August 30, 2021.
The withdrawal marked the end of two decades of war in Afghanistan, which sought to bring peace to the country, but left a trail of chaos and mayhem in the country.
One year after the US pullout, Afghanistan is still bogged down in turmoil. The country has been the scene of recurrent terrorist attacks, some of which have been claimed by the Daesh terrorist group.
Iran says the US has resorted to Daesh to wage a proxy war in Afghanistan to make up for its loss there.
Since the Taliban takeover, Iran has been calling for an all-inclusive government in Afghanistan as the ultimate way out of the persisting instability in the war-torn country.
Experts here describe the US withdrawal from Afghanistan a lasting shame for America and the worst fiasco after its loss in the 1950s' Vietnam War.
They say the chaotic exit was also a lesson for the region that wherever the US has set foot, it has left nothing but mess and destruction for the hosting nation.