Why the US will lose in Afghanistan – the “values gap”
Published: 08 October, 2009, 23:19
Edited: 12 December, 2009, 19:22
America’s military operations in Afghanistan are in a shambles. Simply put, Washington and its NATO allies should fold tent and clear the field, pronto. But there is still time to fix eight years of wrongs to save Afghanistan from the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as promote regional and global security. Washington must abandon its ridiculous agenda to westernize and colonize Afghanistan and its people. Obama has a stark choice – get down and dirty to win or witness the American empire die on the wastelands of the Afghan-Pakistan border.
Afghanistan doesn’t need western democracy, it needs security. The recent failed presidential election says it all – Afghanistan is a corrupt and failed state and attempts to create democratic institutions is a waste of time (and the same applies to the questioned legitimacy of American puppets like Karzai). Washington’s democracy project must be cast aside and empower those in Afghanistan who can take on the Taliban-al-Qaeda insurgency.
The American-led occupation of Afghanistan is nothing less than arrogant and a willful disinterest in history. The fact is that the Afghans can take care of themselves and wait out any occupier – consider the experiences of the Mongols, British and Soviets. No occupying power has been able to meaningfully change the nature of Afghan society. However, working with the dynamics of Afghan institutions and values has yielded results.
This strategy is not without holding one’s nose. There are people and groups who can do battle against the insurgency and win – in fact they have a track record of doing this. Remember the Northern Alliance? These are the same folks who fought the Soviets and won (and even took on and defeated the Taliban when given support in 2001-2002). The Northern Alliance is not interested in democracy and many of its members are accused of war crimes. There are at least 20 tribal leaders willing to be armed and provided financial assistance by the west to take on the Taliban – they should be given this opportunity. Let the Afghans determine their own future (and that future is not necessarily a threat to the US and its allies).
Obama should also tell the Pakistanis to get lost until they get real about the threat of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Washington’s new multi-billion dollar loan to Pakistan smells really bad – it smacks of the same old rewarding of bad behavior when it comes to the Pakistani security forces.
For too long Pakistan has played a two-faced game. It supports terrorist groups that promote its aims to control the fate of Afghanistan, while at the same time continuing to string Washington along claiming the opposite. This double game must come to an end. At the end of day the very problems being played out in Pakistan have everything to do with what is wrong in Afghanistan.
Obama must decide between so-called values and security. Washington’s colonial project in Afghanistan is a complete failure. Democracy in this case does not create security. If we want to get rid of the bad guys, then we must work with some of the other bad guys we don’t like. Once that happens then the US and its friends should get out of Afghanistan as soon as possible. Let the Afghans settle their own scores later.
Is this an amoral, cynical, and inhumane assessment of the Afghan case? Yes, it is indeed. But it is the best case scenario.
