China: U.S. Military Has ‘Lax Discipline and Poor Management’

Chinese state media on Tuesday pounced on the Pentagon report exonerating all U.S. military personnel of wrongdoing for the August 29 drone strike that killed an innocent civilian and nine members of his family in Kabul, including several children.

China mocked the report as a whitewash that proves the American military has become a “ruthless and merciless” murder machine with “lax discipline and poor management.”

The Biden administration initially defended the Kabul drone strike, a frantic attempt to retaliate for a deadly terrorist attack on U.S. military personnel during President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, as a valid attack on a man believed to be engaged in terrorist activity.

The administration made false claims of “secondary explosions” that supposedly proved the victim was carrying explosives, rather than containers full of water he was bringing back to his family compound.

After a week of controversy, the Pentagon admitted the strike was a “mistake” and apologized to the family of the victims. In October, the Biden team offered to pay compensation to the Afghan family, which refused to accept apologies and demanded accountability. 

No accountability was forthcoming, and while U.S. media is desperate to move on from Joe Biden’s deadly failures in Afghanistan, America’s adversaries most certainly are not.

Afghans inspect damage of Ahmadi family house after U.S. drone strike, Aug. 29, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Khwaja Tawfiq Sediqi, File)

China’s state-run Global Times on Tuesday said the Biden administration’s resolute refusal to hold anyone responsible for the Kabul drone strike proves Beijing’s long-standing argument that America is a dangerous, out-of-control, dying imperialist power and human rights hypocrite:

This is a form of US-style hegemony. On the international stage, when blaming other countries for practices which run counter to humanitarianism, the US will not relent. Worse still, in a bid to effectively attack its rivals, the US has even fabricated various lies on human rights or humanitarianism. But when encountering its own issues in this regard, it tries to play it down. This shows that its image of upholding global morality and justice which the US has propagated is trumped up, going against its true colors.

The US military’s attempts to downplay its overseas crime by its troops also demonstrate its contempt for the lives of other countries. Civilians have been killed by US forces in almost all wars waged by the US, ranging from the Vietnam War to battles against the Islamic State in Syria. The US’ tolerance in dealing with such crimes can partly explain why such practices have repeatedly happened.

Furthermore, even though the US military has been creating its image as well-trained, it has been witnessed that the US military has lax discipline and poor management. Another report by [the New York Times] cited military officials who said that a top secret American strike on a cell killed civilians in their operations against the Islamic State in Syria. The report quoted sources as saying that in 2017 the operators showed few signs that there were military. They used first names and no rank or uniforms, and many had bushy beards and went to work in shorts.

The Global Times said the Biden administration’s failure to punish anyone for the Kabul strike “reveals there is no introspection within the U.S. military” and leads American troops to think “if they commit similar crimes once again, they will escape punishment as well.”

“The U.S. exploits its state power and forcibly intervenes in other countries, including attempting to overturn their governments and shake their social stability, waging wars, and threatening the safety of unarmed civilians. All of these can be considered state terrorism,” railed Zhang Tengjun of the China Institute for International Studies.

A relative of Ezmarai Ahmadi, stands near a portion of Ahmadi’s house that was damaged in a US drone strike in the Kwaja Burga neighbourhood of Kabul on September 18, 2021. (HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images)

The Global Times concluded by demanding “the full attention and vigilance of the international community” for America’s actions, which suggests Biden’s deadly blunders will be brought up at the U.N. and other global forums, every time the U.S. criticizes China’s appalling human rights record.

China is presently waging a distressingly successful campaign to slap down Biden’s milquetoast “diplomatic boycott” of the Beijing Winter Olympics – not a boycott of the Olympics but merely the absense of politicians (that China did not invite) from the event.

China will also use Biden’s disaster to tout its own rise as a superior global hegemon, using Afghanistan as an example of how Beijing can clean up Washington’s messes. Chinese state media is heavily touting China’s donations of humanitarian supplies to Afghanistan and positioning itself as the most vital supporter of the Taliban regime – while Chinese businessmen scour the Afghan mountains for mineral riches that can be handed over to pay for China’s patronage.