Who Passes the Double Standard Test in Al-Zawahiri’s Assassination?

Abstract

Intelligence gathering is key in today’s global affairs, and nobody does it better than the United States. The precision drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the most wanted terrorist on July 31 more than a decade after Bin Laden’s assassination. He was known as ‘the man behind Bin Laden’ and the operational brain of the 9/11 attack.

The strike came when the globe was experiencing numerous tipping points, such as China’s aggressiveness in the Taiwan Strait, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and unrelenting proxy warfare in the Middle East. The United States’ power and norms have been questioned in the context of such precarious geopolitics. It has been criticized for withdrawing from Afghanistan and jeopardizing its credibility in the Taiwan dispute. The short-sighted framing of U.S. foreign policy is the subject of many critiques.

Despite the Taliban’s denial of any knowledge that Al-Zawahiri was hiding in Kabul, many experts believe that it would not have been possible without Taliban cooperation. While the entire world has denounced the Taliban for inciting terrorism, China has responded cautiously and questioned why the U.S. maintains a double standard regarding counterterrorism efforts. By investigating the three sides of Al-Zawahiri’s assassination, this article will analyze who seems to exhibit double standards.