Tuesday, February 20, 2007
ââ¬ËUS should press Afghanistan for Durand Line recognitionââ¬â¢
* Terrorism expert says Pakistan unwilling or incapable of containing Taliban
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: The United States should pressure Afghanistan to recognise the Durand Line as the international frontier with Pakistan as its non-recognition aggravates tensions with Pakistan and helps the militants move back and forth across the border, according to a leading expert on terrorism.
Peter Bergen, CNNââ¬â¢s terrorism expert, testifying before the House Committee on Foreign Relations, said that 2007 will likely be a ââ¬Åmake or break yearââ¬Â for Afghanistan, for the international efforts there, and, conversely, for the efforts of the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies to turn the country back into a failed state. What happens will have a large impact on US national security interests as a failed Afghan state will help empower jihadist terrorists who are planning to attack the US and its allies.
Pointing out that the coalition forces are now battling the Taliban on a scale not witnessed since 2001 when the war against the Taliban began, Bergen maintains that bolstered by a compliant Pakistani government, hefty cash inflows from the drug trade, and a population disillusioned by battered infrastructure and lacklustre reconstruction efforts, the Taliban are back.
Bergen is of the view that the rise of the Taliban is to be ultimately linked to the mistakes made by the US in the first years of occupation. These early errors helped pave the way for the resurgence of the Taliban.
The Pakistani government, argues Bergen, has proven unwilling or incapable (or both) of clamping down on the religious militia, despite the fact that the headquarters of the Taliban and its key allies are allegedly located in Pakistan. Pakistanââ¬â¢s upcoming 2007 presidential election means the Pakistani government is doing even less than in the past because the Musharraf government is aware how unpopular military action against the Taliban is in their border regions with Afghanistan. The Taliban, however, consider the Musharraf government an ââ¬Åinfidelââ¬Â. The recent suicide attacks show that the Taliban have the Pakistani government in their crosshairs. Bergen notes that the Pakistani government denies that it is providing a safe haven for the Taliban leadership. The Musharraf government does not completely control its own territory or security agencies, and that ISI, the Pakistani military intelligence agency, at some levels continues to tolerate and/or maintain links with Taliban leaders. Also, many members of the Taliban grew up in refugee camps in Pakistan and so are very familiar with the country. In addition, an alliance of Pakistani religious political parties broadly sympathetic to the Taliban controls both the NWFP and, to some degree, Balochistan. In the last few years, the Taiban have increasingly identified themselves as part of the global jihadist movement.
Bergan points out that Iran has played ââ¬Åsomething of a useful roleââ¬Â in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban. Iran could have acted as a spoiler in post-Taliban Afghanistan; instead it has been something of a stabilising influence in western Afghanistan.
The CNN expert predicts that the spring of 2007 will be a bloody one. The present NATO strength is insufficient by around 5,500 soldiers. NATO member states must increase their troop strength and reduce the number of ââ¬Ånational caveatsââ¬Â that hamper the effectiveness of their forces on the ground.
He said that it was also time for the US to institute a long-term mini-Marshall plan for Afghanistan. In early 2006 the Afghan government published the Afghanistan National Development Strategy, which estimated that $4 billion a year in aid for the next five years was needed to reconstruct the country. For this reason the US should contribute at least half that sum every year for many years to come. Given the fact that the 9/11 attacks emerged from Afghanistan and cost the American economy at least $500 billion, aid for Afghanistan so that it does not to return to a failed state is a good investment.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\02\20\story_20-2-2007_pg7_8
ââ¬ËUS should press Afghanistan for Durand Line recognitionââ¬â¢
* Terrorism expert says Pakistan unwilling or incapable of containing Taliban
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: The United States should pressure Afghanistan to recognise the Durand Line as the international frontier with Pakistan as its non-recognition aggravates tensions with Pakistan and helps the militants move back and forth across the border, according to a leading expert on terrorism.
Peter Bergen, CNNââ¬â¢s terrorism expert, testifying before the House Committee on Foreign Relations, said that 2007 will likely be a ââ¬Åmake or break yearââ¬Â for Afghanistan, for the international efforts there, and, conversely, for the efforts of the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies to turn the country back into a failed state. What happens will have a large impact on US national security interests as a failed Afghan state will help empower jihadist terrorists who are planning to attack the US and its allies.
Pointing out that the coalition forces are now battling the Taliban on a scale not witnessed since 2001 when the war against the Taliban began, Bergen maintains that bolstered by a compliant Pakistani government, hefty cash inflows from the drug trade, and a population disillusioned by battered infrastructure and lacklustre reconstruction efforts, the Taliban are back.
Bergen is of the view that the rise of the Taliban is to be ultimately linked to the mistakes made by the US in the first years of occupation. These early errors helped pave the way for the resurgence of the Taliban.
The Pakistani government, argues Bergen, has proven unwilling or incapable (or both) of clamping down on the religious militia, despite the fact that the headquarters of the Taliban and its key allies are allegedly located in Pakistan. Pakistanââ¬â¢s upcoming 2007 presidential election means the Pakistani government is doing even less than in the past because the Musharraf government is aware how unpopular military action against the Taliban is in their border regions with Afghanistan. The Taliban, however, consider the Musharraf government an ââ¬Åinfidelââ¬Â. The recent suicide attacks show that the Taliban have the Pakistani government in their crosshairs. Bergen notes that the Pakistani government denies that it is providing a safe haven for the Taliban leadership. The Musharraf government does not completely control its own territory or security agencies, and that ISI, the Pakistani military intelligence agency, at some levels continues to tolerate and/or maintain links with Taliban leaders. Also, many members of the Taliban grew up in refugee camps in Pakistan and so are very familiar with the country. In addition, an alliance of Pakistani religious political parties broadly sympathetic to the Taliban controls both the NWFP and, to some degree, Balochistan. In the last few years, the Taiban have increasingly identified themselves as part of the global jihadist movement.
Bergan points out that Iran has played ââ¬Åsomething of a useful roleââ¬Â in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban. Iran could have acted as a spoiler in post-Taliban Afghanistan; instead it has been something of a stabilising influence in western Afghanistan.
The CNN expert predicts that the spring of 2007 will be a bloody one. The present NATO strength is insufficient by around 5,500 soldiers. NATO member states must increase their troop strength and reduce the number of ââ¬Ånational caveatsââ¬Â that hamper the effectiveness of their forces on the ground.
He said that it was also time for the US to institute a long-term mini-Marshall plan for Afghanistan. In early 2006 the Afghan government published the Afghanistan National Development Strategy, which estimated that $4 billion a year in aid for the next five years was needed to reconstruct the country. For this reason the US should contribute at least half that sum every year for many years to come. Given the fact that the 9/11 attacks emerged from Afghanistan and cost the American economy at least $500 billion, aid for Afghanistan so that it does not to return to a failed state is a good investment.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\02\20\story_20-2-2007_pg7_8
