The UK and US operation in Afghanistan is “worthless” and akin to the start of the Vietnam War, former SAS commander Maj Sebastian Morley has said. Now we have President Barack Obama who said that the US must have an “exit strategy” in Afghanistan, even as Washington sends more troops to fight Taliban militants.  

 

Mr. Obama – who last month ordered the deployment of an additional 17,000 US troops to Afghanistan – acknowledged that military force alone would not be enough to achieve Washington’s objectives, which included the defeat of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. This clearly demonstrates the defeat for America, Britain and NATO who now try to negotiate with the so called good Taliban. This is clearly another western policy which is to divide and rule. Here we go again; America openly interfering in the internal affairs of another country, masterminding the toppling of a president, setting up faction against faction, tribe against tribe, arming one group to fight another and undoubtedly enflaming the country further and bringing anarchy to its streets. How disappointing! In just few days in office Mr. Obama is following the disastrous Bush line and is showing signs that the only change we are going to see is a new face making the same mistakes. If it is corruption Mr. Obama is worried about I suggest he looks to Kenya, the land of his father and witness the rampant blatant corruption that is bringing that lovely country to its knees.

Obama recently met with four and half Pashtoons who are running for Afghan presidency.

The challengers: Who might replace Karzai?

Gul Agha Sherzai

A veteran of the wars against the Soviets, Mr. Sherzai who is the current governor of Nangarhar is a human rights abuser and is not educated but has achieved some success in the east of the country.

Dr Abdullah Abdullah

Although half Pashtun, he is considered a leader of Afghanistan’s Tajik population is amongst a bunch of warlords, Thugs, Thieves, Murderers, Rapists and most of them are wanted for war crimes and genocide against the innocent Afghans. He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2001 and served until 2006. He contributed nothing to Afghanistan apart from being an Interpreter to the former Warlord Ahmad Shah Masoud.

Ali Ahmad Jalali

An ethnic Pashtun and former colonel, Jalali joined the anti-Soviet resistance after the Russians invaded Afghanistan in 1979. He took US citizenship and spent 20 years broadcasting for Voice of America. He is a poppet of Mr. Zalmy Khalilzad who is responsible for the killing of many innocent Afghans. 
 
 

Dr Ashraf Ghani

An ethnic Pashtun, he studied in America, at Colombia University. He worked at the World Bank from 1991 to 2001, when he returned to Afghanistan for the first time in 24 years and was appointed s a Finance Minister from 2002-04. He is an American citizen and should not be allowed to run for Presidency unless he renounces the American citizenship. He stayed away for a very long time from Afghanistan and is not in touch with the people of the land.

If Obama is going to remove Mr. Karzai who is going to replace him? The above four are just the same as Karzai if not worse. At least Hamid Karzai has more links to Afghanistan than the above. The current regime is a bunch of thieves and is corrupt to the highest level. Karzai officials had hoped Hillary Clinton, now the US Secretary of State, would prove their ally in White House. But those hopes were dashed when she branded Afghanistan a “Norco-state” with a government “plagued by limited capacity and widespread corruption”

Afghanistan belongs to Afghans and the American, British and NATO have no rights to involve foreign countries to bring peace to our country. A recent report which said that, Iran would consider a US invitation to a conference on Afghanistan later this month. Tehran declared that it was ready to review any approach from Western powers, as it would offer any help to its eastern neighbour.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Brussels that Iran should be included in the Afghanistan summit. Why not invite the Afghan opposition groups such as the Taliban and Hezb-e- Islami to the summit? Why invite Iran and other neighbouring countries? The Taliban and Hezb-e- Islami are Afghans and they should be included in this month summit. I do not think that by inviting others than Afghans will bring peace and stability to our country. The days of the occupiers are numbered in Afghanistan and I am certain that the illegal occupation is soon to be ended and the resistance clearly works and that is why Mr. Obama is looking for an exit strategy. There are no bad or good Taliban but they are all Taliban and they should all be part of any future government. I am not a supporter of the Taliban but they are a force to be reckoned and any peace deal on Afghanistan should and must include them, otherwise Afghanistan will be another Vietnam for the illegal occupiers. 
 

The only solution to the Afghan conflict is that the American, British and NATO leave Afghanistan to Afghans to decide their future. The best option for the west is to withdraw their troops immediately otherwise they will face the same fate as the Russian did. Almost eighty thousands innocent Afghans have been killed in Afghanistan by the illegal occupiers. War does not solve the problem or bring peace to a country but it is the ultimate terror. There are no winners in war but only survivors and I am sure the surviving side in Afghanistan will be the resistance to the foreign occupation.  
 

Mohammad N Asif

Exile Afghan Journalist

President, Scottish Afghan Society

nmasif@hotmail.com