OBAMA’S PLAN FOR AFGHANISTAN!
Oppoded by Dr. Zirakyar and JFP
Prodicing a stable and effective government in war-torn Afghanistan should be the high purpuse of any further political and/or military action which would pave the way for foreign troops withdrawal from “the graveyard of empires.” But President Barack Obama’s military escalation in Afghanistan is likely to be counterproductive to this end.
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As requested by U.S.-based organization Just Foreign Policy, I, Zirakyar, singned on to their enclosed letter to President Obama (March 11, 2009) asking him to reconsider the announced plan for military escalation in Afghanistan:
Dear Mr. President:
We have noted with some concern your announcement that an additional
17,000 US troops would be sent to Afghanistan. As the goals of our seven
year military involvement remain troublingly unclear, we urge you to
reconsider such a military escalation.
If the intent is to leave behind a stable Afghanistan capable of governing
itself, this military escalation may well be counterproductive. A recent
study by the Carnegie Endowment has concluded that “the only meaningful
way to halt the insurgency’s momentum is to start withdrawing troops. The
presence of foreign troops is the most important element
driving the
resurgence of the Taliban.”
The 2001 authorization to use military force in Afghanistan allowed
military action “to prevent any future acts of international terrorism
against the United States.” Continuing to fight a counterinsurgency war in
Afghanistan does not appear to us to be in keeping with these directives
and an escalation may actually harm US security.
In a tape released in 2004, Osama bin Laden stated that al Qaedas’ goal
was to “bleed.. .America to the point of bankruptcy” in Afghanistan. He
continued, “All that we have to do is to send two mujahedeen to the
furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al
Qaeda, in order to make generals race there to cause America to suffer
human, economic and political losses without their achieving anything of
note. . . .” We would do well to pay attention to these threats and to
avoid falling into any such trap through escalation of our military
presence in Afghanistan.
We are also concerned that any perceived military success in Afghanistan
might create pressure to increase military activity in Pakistan. This
could very well lead to dangerous destabilization in the region and would
increase hostility toward the United States.
Mr. President, in reviewing the past history of Afghanistan and the
nations that have failed to conquer it — Russia spent nine years in
Afghanistan and lost many billions of dollars and more than 15,000 Russian
soldiers– we urge you to reconsider the decision to send an additional
17,000 troops and to resist pressure to escalate even further.
Sincerely,
Independent Scholar,USA