Sunday
Nov302008
The Story You May Have Missed: Afghanistan
Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 8:39
With all the attention to the unfolding events in Mumbai and, to a lesser extent, the manoeuvres in Iraq over the Status of Forces Agreement, here's a development that slipped by:
"Afghan President Hamid Karzai has sharply criticized the United States and NATO, demanding a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign forces."
Yep, withdrawal. What's more, this was not a call for withdrawal after military victory but for withdrawal after political negotiation, even with former and current enemies:
This war has gone on for seven years. The Afghans don't understand anymore how come a little force like the Taliban can continue to exist, can continue to flourish, can continue to launch attacks with 40 countries in Afghanistan, with entire NATO force in Afghanistan, with the entire international community behind them. Still we are not able to defeat the Taliban....
If there is no deadline, we have the right to find another solution for peace and security, which is negotiations.
The Afghan President has been pushing for talks with factions of the Taliban for months. Last month, there appeared to be some US recognition of his position, as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates indicated that there might be scope for engagement with "moderate" Taliban.
Then, however, the US headlines were taken over by President-elect Obama's posture that more forces were the way to go. Meanwhile, leading Taliban --- probably believing they could manoeuvre for an even better position --- pointedly rejected Karzai's suggestion. And democracy's clock is ticking: Karzai faces a Presidential election next year.
To my knowledge, only The Washington Post picked up Karzai's speech, made to a visiting UN Security Council delegation. The next day, headlines returned to violence --- 4 killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul --- and unwelcome progress --- "U.N. Reports That Taliban Is Stockpiling Opium".
With respect, folks better start paying attention. It's not Karzai who wants to erase, over a period of time, the US military footprint. Washington may disagree with his assessment, shared by some within the Pakistani Government, that "hard power" is not offering a solution. If President Obama shares that disagreement, however, he needs to recognise that he is proceeding in defiance of --- not with --- his purported ally in what remains of the 2001 "War on Terror".
"Afghan President Hamid Karzai has sharply criticized the United States and NATO, demanding a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign forces."
Yep, withdrawal. What's more, this was not a call for withdrawal after military victory but for withdrawal after political negotiation, even with former and current enemies:
This war has gone on for seven years. The Afghans don't understand anymore how come a little force like the Taliban can continue to exist, can continue to flourish, can continue to launch attacks with 40 countries in Afghanistan, with entire NATO force in Afghanistan, with the entire international community behind them. Still we are not able to defeat the Taliban....
If there is no deadline, we have the right to find another solution for peace and security, which is negotiations.
The Afghan President has been pushing for talks with factions of the Taliban for months. Last month, there appeared to be some US recognition of his position, as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates indicated that there might be scope for engagement with "moderate" Taliban.
Then, however, the US headlines were taken over by President-elect Obama's posture that more forces were the way to go. Meanwhile, leading Taliban --- probably believing they could manoeuvre for an even better position --- pointedly rejected Karzai's suggestion. And democracy's clock is ticking: Karzai faces a Presidential election next year.
To my knowledge, only The Washington Post picked up Karzai's speech, made to a visiting UN Security Council delegation. The next day, headlines returned to violence --- 4 killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul --- and unwelcome progress --- "U.N. Reports That Taliban Is Stockpiling Opium".
With respect, folks better start paying attention. It's not Karzai who wants to erase, over a period of time, the US military footprint. Washington may disagree with his assessment, shared by some within the Pakistani Government, that "hard power" is not offering a solution. If President Obama shares that disagreement, however, he needs to recognise that he is proceeding in defiance of --- not with --- his purported ally in what remains of the 2001 "War on Terror".
Scott Lucas | 1 Comment |
tagged Hamid Karzai, NATO, Taliban in Afghanistan