Afghanistan, in a new light

[Elmo]

No exit strategy from Afghanistan

Swedish FM

KABUL — The international community, with more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, does not have an exit strategy and will stay committed for the long term, Sweden's foreign minister said Tuesday.

"There is no time line, it is clear that no one has an exit strategy, because we have a transition strategy," Carl Bildt, whose country is currently president of the European Union, told AFP.

"It is vital that Afghans have the confidence that we will stay," he said.

The emphasis of the foreign presence was shifting, he said, from military action against Taliban-liked insurgents, to training Afghan security forces and helping build a civilian governance infrastructure.

"There has to be a move from a military-heavy presence to a civilian-heavy presence," he said.

"One of the big problems in Afghanistan in the last 30 to 40 years is that there have been too many exit strategies and not enough transition strategies," Bildt said before leaving Kabul after a two-day visit to Afghanistan.

The US and NATO commander in Afghanistan on Monday submitted a long-awaited review into the eight-year war, calling for a revised strategy to defeat the Taliban and reverse the "serious" situation in the country.

The United States and NATO have called for new thinking in Afghanistan to counter record numbers of Taliban attacks since the 2001 US-led invasion.

Bildt said the emphasis of the new strategy was on "civilian, political, economic resources" to build "rule of law, governance and anti-corruption mechanisms".

"These are critical to winning this war," he said, because "this is not a conflict that can be won by military means alone".

Bildt said he met the deputy commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Jim Dutton, and discussed the review submitted by General Stanley McChrystal on Monday.

The Afghan government has welcomed the civilian focus in McChrystal's review, as civilian deaths and collateral damage have caused widespread anger.

Afghanistan is bogged down in controversy over presidential elections. President Hamid Karzai is leading a painstaking vote count but the polls have been clouded in allegations of massive fraud.

AFP: No exit strategy from Afghanistan: Swedish FM

Well we all know the theory (train local forces, improve civilian-military-state relationship, economics etc), there has got to be some practical as well!!!

 

[araz]

Ha HA! They will run!Give i t time! The only irony of it all will be that they will leave Afghanistan in a bigger mess than what it was before.
Araz

 

[Vassnti]

Ha HA! They will run!Give i t time! The only irony of it all will be that they will leave Afghanistan in a bigger mess than what it was before.
Araz

I hate to say but i am starting to agree.

Most have confidence in the ability of the United States to meet its primary goals of defeating the Taliban, facilitating economic development, and molding an honest and effective Afghan government, but few say Thursday's elections there are likely to produce such a government.

washingtonpost.com

Karzai may get enough votes to be reelected leaving the US with an unpopular leader, with a corrupt goverment cosisting of warlords drug runners and Tajiks in a majority Pashtun country.

With out a widely accepted honest leader there can be no " solution" in afghanistan, if as so many here would like the US "gives up" and goes civil war is almost a certainty with Iran, India and Pakistan all backing their favored side. The current situation may not be working but that would probably be even worse for the people of afghanistan.

 

[Elmo]

This thread should be merged with one by Muse, i think it's titled, "Afghanistan, in new light"

It's about Afghanistan, the elections and future etc as well.

It will be interesting comparing the articles there and contratsing it with this one.

 

[H2O3C4Nitrogen]

I think depending upon the current difficulties faced to the US in Afghanistan , Pakistan should ink for some sort of strategic deal with the US which could be mutually helpful similar to that like of US-Indian nuclear deal(with all the background context). The US should not leave Afghanistan in a mess as that scenario would be devastating for every stakeholder .

 

[Watani]

The whole point is that since USA invasion, Pashtuns are at their worse situation ever. Never this many Pashtuns have died daily and never fear has been this high for Pashtuns. Southern part of Afghanistan got so-called strongest defence but still daily Pashtuns die. Pashtuns need education more than ever but instead schools are being built in Northern Afghanistan. All the aid goes to the Northern part which leaves Pashtuns no other option but to join Taliban in order to feed their family. Whenever something (bombs and etcetera) is being 'tested' by the NATO, very 'coincidentally' it's being done in the Southern part as result of it again Pashtuns die.

If USA truly wants to succeed in Afghanistan then they need to satisfy Pashtuns first because they are the largest ethnic there, otherwise Pashtuns might turn their support towards Taliban. Again.

 

[S-2]

Always fascinating reading parochial Pakistani perspectives of Iraq, Afghanistan and America.

Thank you, gentle contributors, for a good giggle...

 

[Gin ka Pakistan]

Always fascinating reading parochial Pakistani perspectives of Iraq, Afghanistan and America.

Thank you, gentle contributors, for a good giggle...

Unlike Vietnam war this time Western media is playing along with the hawks and hiding facts.
Do you think UK left Oil rich southern Iraq by will ? and Canada plan to leave Afghanistan by 2011 as they are not needed any more there or its a fact that western policies have failed till now.

Democracy has failed in the region as between two enemies Sunni and Shiite or Northern Alliance and Pashtuns only one can be in power. So $$ for one and bullet for the other.

 

[S-2]

"Unlike Vietnam war this time Western media is playing along with the hawks and hiding facts."

All part of the plan.

More giggles. Thanks.

 

[Elmo]

"Unlike Vietnam war this time Western media is playing along with the hawks and hiding facts."

All part of the plan.

More giggles. Thanks.

Well seems like there will be more laughs than giggles from the other end for you S-2 ...


So how about you tell us how the US has it right in Afghanistan...

 

[S-2]

Ummm...for starters, since when is 40% of a population a MAJORITY?

Can Muse or you explain this to me?

Then, while admittedly Afghani and not Pakistani, can you support this contention by Watani-

"Never this many Pashtuns have died daily and never fear has been this high for Pashtuns."

We KNOW that anywhere between 900,000 and 3,000,000 afghanis died in the Afghan-Soviet war. We KNOW that about 200,000 afghanis died in the Afghan civil war. We KNOW that only about 20,000-30,000 afghanis have died in the eight years of this war yet...

...there it is.

Finally, this interestingly but humorous summation by Muse-

"After losing to Iran in Iraq..."

Why is it that with Saddam gone, his WMD ambitions forever dismantled, his irridentist ambitions gone, the fascist Baath Party dismantled and some semblance of a seedling democracy in place I should feel particularly chagrined?

Some see matters in a "zero-sum" manner. Perhaps this describes Muse's comment above. This comment strikes me as such. Has Iran "won"? If so, what exactly? My guess is that the mullahs are distinctly uncomfortable in their current "winning" posture.

Hope that helps.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Always fascinating reading parochial Pakistani perspectives of Iraq, Afghanistan and America.

Thank you, gentle contributors, for a good giggle...

A nice change from the parochial American/Western perspectives in the Western media about Pakistan I am sure.

 

[Hellfire]

Why is it that with Saddam gone, his WMD ambitions forever dismantled, his irridentist ambitions gone, the fascist Baath Party dismantled and some semblance of a seedling democracy in place I should feel particularly chagrined?

QUOTE]

the WMD contention is a bit of overreach IMO especially with US admitting to falsification of news of WMDs in first place ....... and the Baathist are still around, they are infact being invited to build a "new Iraq" ... only their big boss is history .....

infact, US has classically ensured instability in surrounding regions of Turkey and Iran where the Kurds will now wage campaigns to wrest some kind of autonomy after having seen some success in Iraq ..... and they have ensured an unstable Iraq for a long time accomplishments by US may not necessarily be for the good of the region.

US can not simply expect to enforce its views of governance on other regions for which the system has not been developed or is suited. It was just the personal Ego of the Bush family that saw a nation being done in .....

 

[S-2]

"the WMD contention is a bit of overreach IMO"

That's your opinion. MY opinion is that demonstrated use and a retention of those ambitions justifies the inclusion of WMD into the portfolio of "missions accomplished".

What you perhaps don't appreciate is, regardless of dormancy, the latent capability remained and the will to employ such had been demonstrated. Whether active or not, the plausibility of such is now removed for the forseeable future.

"US has classically ensured instability in surrounding regions of Turkey and Iran where the Kurds will now wage campaigns to wrest some kind of autonomy after having seen some success in Iraq"

Thanks for reminding me of our other significant success. Actually, I'd argue that the Kurds have never been closer to being integrated into the Iraqi state and, yet, achieve their own nationalist ambitions...

...within limits.

There will be no greater Kurdistan. Not by America's endorsement. Should Kurdistan prove intractable in this regard, there may no longer be an autonomous kurdish republic. Their hold on statehood is tenuous. Their ambitions for an utterly separate nation will not be achieved.

"US can not simply expect to enforce its views of governance on other regions for which the system has not been developed or is suited."

Uh huh. So with each election you'll repeat this mantra? Try taking that privilege of voting away from the Iraqis now and emplacing your preferred strong man.

See what that gets you. It's tried and true throughout the region. Works wonderfully too from all that visible socio-cultural innovation.

"It was just the personal Ego of the Bush family that saw a nation being done in ..."

More giggles...

 

[Gin ka Pakistan]

S-2, if Turkey is at war with Kurds (in future) as a NATO member USA has to come and protect it. Well they ?