Photo/Illutration A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies over the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on Aug. 15. Helicopters are landing at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as diplomatic vehicles leave the compound amid the Taliban advance on the Afghan capital. (AP Photo)

Sometimes, it takes just one photograph or a short video clip to eloquently narrate the significance of the filmed scene.

When the fall of the Afghan capital of Kabul was imminent on Aug. 15, a camera captured U.S. military helicopters in flight near the U. S. Embassy. The choppers had just taken off with embassy personnel and others on board, all being airlifted out of Afghanistan.

The picture told the story of a superpower that started a war in Afghanistan but was ultimately forced to back out.

Many Americans appear to have been reminded of the fall of Saigon in April 1975 that ended the Vietnam War. At that time, too, helicopters were used to evacuate U.S. Embassy personnel out of the country.

But U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a TV network, "This is manifestly not Saigon.”

His argument was that unlike the Vietnam War in which the United States was defeated by communist forces, the war in Afghanistan has successfully dealt crushing blows to terrorist organizations.

But with both wars, the reason for America's withdrawal was the same: The public could no longer bear the burden of a prolonged military engagement.

And far too many lives were sacrificed in both conflicts. Of an estimated 170,000-plus people killed in Afghanistan, more than 40,000 were civilians.

The late Dr. Tetsu Nakamura, who headed a local NGO aid group and was assassinated in 2019, used to warn that the continued slaying of innocent civilians would invite an escalation of terrorism in the land.

"When children and women end up as fatalities in errant bombing attacks, Afghanistan is a society where their parents and brothers retaliate by becoming combatants," Nakamura once told The Asahi Shimbun.

He urged us to use our imaginations and understand that the death of one foreign soldier is equivalent to 100 times the sacrifices exacted from the people of Afghanistan.

The chain reaction of violence has perhaps enabled the Taliban to regain power and grow in influence, despite their political exile.

Now that they have captured the entire nation, there is deep concern they may deal harshly with dissidents.

What can the international community do?

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 17

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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