Wasteful Then and Wasteful Now:
A British army chaplain, Reverend GR Gleig, in 1843,wrote a memoir of his posting in Afghanistan after the first Anglo-Afghan warand encapsulated his experience in one sentence: this was ‘a war begun for no wise purpose, carried on with strange mixture of rashness and timidity, brought to a close after suffering and disaster, without much glory attached either to the government…or the great body of troops which waged it. Not one benefit, political or military (was) acquired. Our eventual evacuation of the country resembled the retreat of an army defeated.’
When the Afghan war began in October 2001, many believed that the British expeditions in the Afghan wasteland were a thing of the past when the technological advances were absent and a soldier gear was far inferior to that of the Western troops in 2001. Nearing the completion of its ninth year, all claims to win a war against a crafty and native enemy are now proving wrong. Whether anyone in the Western capitals agrees to this or not but the reality is that the war effort that the US led, UK feverishly sponsored and other European countries, under the flagship of NATO, dragged their feet into the messy pot now called Afghanistan. Despite all the analysis ´ some say manipulated intelligence -, technological edge, weaponry, mobility, international blessing and power intoxication, the US-led Afghan expedition is being termed as a failure, only in so many vague words. But those who have an eye to read between the lines and are keen observers of power moves, understand that a belief is baking strong in the hearts and minds of the Western Capitals on the futility of this war.
Winning the War or Saving the Graces:
Now the challenge is not to win this war. The challenge now is an ‘honorable retreat!’
‘How NATO and US-led forces reached at this point,’ is a big question to which various Pakistani officials and authorities have been pointing out at for the last few years; especially after General Kayani took over. Initially ignored but now there is a great focus on the matter.
It was and is validly about winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people in which all the stakeholders involved in Afghanistan political control have failed from the US-installed Afghan government to the US/NATO troops on the ground. According to a compelling reportage on June 22, 2010, by ace South Asian writer, William Dalrymple, ‘the Taliban already control more than 70% of the country where they collect taxes, enforce the sharia and dispense their usual rough justice.’ Taliban, he wrote, are not stopping here and ‘every month, their sphere of influence increases.’ Nine years into a war and the US/NATO supported Hamid Karzai government controls only 29 out of 121 key strategic Afghan districts, a Pentagon report in May 2010 said. The July 2010, the media reported, was the deadliest month for the American soldiers since the beginning of the war and over 60 American troops were killed in a month. The number of injured was not disclosed. Independent observers believe that the figures of casualties are shared via the controlled media and the figure could be higher than that.
Kabul, which is the most fortified city in the region, is still unsafe and it is nearly impossible, Dalrymple writes, for any westerner to walk around the capital. This situation is not without a reason and many factors played into the larger public disgruntlement of the Afghan people.
Some Hints How US/NATO Spoiled the Afghan Front:
Firstly, the US/NATO troops, after ‘liberating Kabul,’ behaved more like occupiers as opposed to liberator and helpers in national reconstruction. The sense did come back but it came back a little too late with a negligence of nearly nine years. Now the troops are found announcing from the Humvees and dropping pamphlets from their helicopters that they are friends but this is something that the Afghans are not buying now. The resentment and anger is so high that on the date of Chelsea Clinton wedding (August 1), an 80 years old Soviet War veteran-volunteer, Haji Lala, rammed his explosive laden vehicle into a NATO convoy in district Sangeen of the Helmand province and killed 10 NATO troops.
Secondly, the military operations in the Pashtoon dominated Southern Afghanistan have nearly-always backfired. From operation Moshterak in Marjah to the recently started Operation Tor Shezada, or Black Prince, in Helmand. Taliban responded by killing 12 Afghan security officials and also attacked the British troops in the area. In addition, Taliban threatened nearly 100 pro-Karzai tribal leaders to shun their support or face consequences. In a demonstration of their power, they killed 7 tribal chiefs in one day on July 31 only in Qandahar.
Thirdly, the consistent support of the West for the corrupt Karzai government played in favour of the Taliban and despite many loud outcries, both the Karzai government and its backers are unwilling to rectify the wrongs. Commenting on a recent donors– conference in Kabul, an observer said that ‘only if conferences and pledges could fix things right, Afghanistan would have been ahead of the United States by now!’
No wonder Taliban are winning in Afghanistan. Not because they are better but only because the other side could not do any better at all.
Any Lessons Learnt?
If there is someone willing to draw wisdom from history then the words of George Lawrence, a renowned veteran of the war wrote in The Times in 1870s: ‘A new generation has arisen, which instead of profiting from the solemn lessons of the past, is willing and eager to embroil us in the affairs of that turbulent and unhappy country.’ He added that a military disaster maybe avoided but ‘however successful in a military point of view, (this) would not fail to turn out to be as politically useless.’ The American Neocons in 2001 terribly resembled with Lawrence depiction of the war mongers some 131 years ago.
Hasn–t the time arrived to talk to the real representatives of Afghans, Mr. Obama?