World anarchy or second Afghanistan for "old man Joe"

Over the past two days, the American establishment has been constantly monitoring the development of the situation in Ukraine solely. According to Russian president Vladimir Putin, Russia launched a military operation against this country in order to ensure it’s "demilitarization" and "denazification". Discussing the ways to resolve the conflict some influential congressmen accused, not without justice, the White House administration of the current stalemate in Eastern Europe. For instance, on February 15, senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell held a briefing on the Ukrainian crisis. During his speech McConnell criticized US President Joe Biden and pointed to the failure of his foreign policy in Afghanistan. In opinion of the senator, it was the mistake of the US peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan that catalyzed the escalation of tension in relations between Russia and Ukraine.

There is no doubt that even today the American civil society is concerned about the Afghan problem because the sensitive fiasco that the USA got in the fight against the Taliban is in marked contrast to the spurious successes in the Middle East and Central Asia which the American leadership declared before. It is extremely important for Washington to maintain its influence in these regions especially at a time of Russia has been strengthening position in these regions. However, the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan led to a series of problems for international security. The main of them are the migration crisis in Central Asia, the intensification of sleeping terrorist cells and the death of civilians. The miscalculations of the leaders of the US Democratic Party and Joseph Biden led to serious consequences which have not been resolved yet.

Such disappointing results caused the fall of US President’s approval rating. "If the election was tomorrow, it would be a tragedy for the Democrats," said Jay Campbell, a sociologist of Hart Research Associates. According to the British «The Independent» newspaper, only 15-18 percent of Americans support Biden's policy.

Probably, Biden saw that the only possible option to regain the cracked confidence of his electorate (especially ahead of the autumn midterm congressional elections) was to interfere in the Ukrainian crisis decisively. Tough rhetoric against Moscow and demonstrative attempts to put the intransigent Russian leader Vladimir Putin in his place became a "lifeline" for the American president. In the White House they believed that it was the only way to shift the focus of public attention from the inglorious collapse of the Afghan mission. "The Biden administration has been stepping up its foreign policy activities in Ukraine taking into account the failed operation in Afghanistan," said Ami Bera, a member of the California Foreign Affairs Committee.

Pro-democracy media and TV channels broadcast endless reports about Biden's activity to quickly resolve the Ukrainian-Russian crisis and his determination to put such a pressure on the Kremlin which it will not withstand. All these things will prompt Vladimir Putin to abandon aggressive military attacks against the independent republics of the former USSR.

The devastating problems have become a headache for the Biden administration. They continue to worry politicians on the Capitol Hill who are in awe of the credibility of the United States. For example, requesting from the State Department a more detailed plan of evacuation of Americans in the event of hostilities in Ukraine, senator for Iowa John Ernst said: "I am very concerned that we may see the second version of Afghanistan."

Do Americans really need a "second Afghanistan"? NBC News reporters Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Ben Kamisar believe that the worsening crisis in Ukraine could give carte blanche to Republicans and allow them to completely destroy President Biden's political reputation. Moreover, according to Mike Pompeo, former head of State Department, Biden may soon lose confidence and support even within his team. But there is something even worse than this. The fact that Ukraine is being turned into a bridgehead of the US-Russia confrontation could lead to the final collapse of the existing world order and Russia's refusal to comply with the fundamental rules of the game in foreign policy. In this case, real chaos and anarchy can prevail in the international arena.