Afghanistan War: Can the US win?
Photo: John Moore/getty
THE war in Afghanistan launched on October 7, 2001, dubbed "Operation Enduring Freedom," were to locate, capture or kill Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the members of his leadership cadre and end the Taliban regime's stronghold in the region, striking a decisive blow in the Bush administration's infamous global "War on Terror." While many members of Al-Qaeda's command staff captured or killed, and many Taliban members neutralized, Osama bin Laden remains hiding, suspected of being somewhere in a mountainous remote Pakistani region. Al Qaeda has evolved, spreading to several areas across the globe. The Taliban appears able to strike U.S. military forces at will, and public support for the war is rapidly falling. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released September 1 found that 57 per cent of the American people are opposed to the war, up 11 points since April. Last month was the deadliest for U.S. military personnel since the war began eight years ago and pressure is rising on Pres. Barack Obama and top U.S. military officials to find a quick solution to the complex problem. Some critics on the left and the right are calling on him to withdraw from Afghanistan , while others, including military officials, are suggesting recalibration of troop levels and force deployment. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff recently described the situation as "serious and deteriorating." U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Commander of the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan said the situation in Afghanistan needs a "revised implementation strategy." Even conservative commentator George Will in an opinion appearing in the Sept.1 Washington Post suggested "rapidly reversing the trajectory of America 's involvement in Afghanistan ." "What the last eight years have shown us is that what we need is not a new military strategy, but a new strategy altogether," said Clare Moen of the War Resisters League and editor-in-chief of their official publication, WIN magazine. "Sending in more troops has not been working. We just finished the deadliest month in the deadliest year for U.S. troops in Afghanistan ," she added. Ms. Moen's group, an 84-year-old nonviolent antiwar organization, plans major anti-war action in cities across the U.S. on October 5 to protest the War in Afghanistan and demand an immediate withdrawal of troops. Responding via e-mail from France to questions presented by The Final Call, author, political commentator and co-founder of the on-line news magazine Electronic Intifada Ali Abunimah wrote, "During the campaign, Obama promised to intensify the war in Afghanistan and spread it to Pakistan. By all accounts he is keeping that promise. More bombs, more violence, more displaced people will not produce the conditions for peace. Rather, it will expand the circle of suffering and those willing to take up arms in defence of what they experience as a foreign invasion. So sadly I do see the worst yet to come." Presdent Obama, immediately on taking office, said Afghanistan was a "necessary war" and while he has ordered an increase in troop levels and has took on to work with cooperative allies within Afghanistan and Pakistan to succeed, conflict rages The results from the recently held Afghan presidential election are still in dispute, with the announcement delayed because of allegations of voter fraud. Even after the results are announced, analysts say the Afghan government is weak and the drug trade threatens what little stability there is. Though there is a government in Kabul , the capital city, but real control over what happened on the ground rested in tribal leaders and warlords. That is layered on sharp ethnic differences in different parts of the country. In fact, it is misleading to think of Afghanistan as a country or a nation. It is a territory containing several nations and falling woefully short of having the coherence we normally associate with the word 'country,'" Though poppy cultivation and opium production has gone down, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's "Afghanistan Opium Survey 2009," its executive director, Antonio Maria Costa still sees narcotics trafficking as a major problem in the region. According to the report, poppy cultivation dropped 22 per cent and opium production by 10 per cent and there has been a 33 per cent drop of land devoted to poppy cultivation, the report said. "The bottom is starting to fall out of the Afghan opium market. For the second year in a row, cultivation, production, workforce, prices, revenues, exports and its GDP share are all down, while the number of poppy-free provinces and drug seizures continue to rise. Yet, Afghan drugs still have disastrous outcomes. They fund criminals, insurgents, and terrorists in Afghanistan and abroad. Collusion with corrupt government officials keeps undermining public trust, security, and the law," said Mr. Costa. Robert T. Starks, political science professor at North-eastern Illinois University described Afghanistan as "almost ungovernable" and pointed out that if President. Obama continues to ramp up troop levels in an effort to stay in the course, he runs the risk of a prolonged conflict without end. As the American bodies continue to pile up, public support will continue to decline. However, the major issue, according to Prof. Starks, is the financial drain the war is having on a faltering American economy. "Economically, this country cannot afford to continue that war," said Prof. Starks. "The last thing he wants to do is to have a repeat of what went on in Vietnam, that type of long range fight going on in Afghanistan," said Prof. Starks. For President. Obama and the multinational forces in the region, the bad news keeps on coming. According to media reports, an NATO air strike in Afghanistan on Sept. 4 caused at least 90 civilian casualties. Constant drone attacks with Hellfire missiles have taken the lives of hundreds of non-combatants in the border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan , which has not helped matters with locals whom the multinational forces are ostensibly seeking to enlist for support. A top defence aide to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown resigned on Sept. 3 over disagreements on the government's Afghanistan policy and involvement. According to a recent poll in London 's Daily Telegraph 66 per cent of Brits are against the war. Fifty-two British soldiers have been killed in the conflict within the last two months. With four months left, 2009 has already been the deadliest year for troops in Afghanistan . There are about 68,000 American troops engaged in combat operations . Despite those realities on the ground, Defence Secretary Robert Gates at a Sept. 3 press briefing alongside Adm. Mullen at the Pentagon, reiterated his support for President. Obama's strategy while acknowledging faltering support. Prof. Starks said despite what the generals are saying, the reality is that President. Obama is going to be forced to consider a withdrawal "sooner rather than later." Leading Islamic scholar Imam Zaid Shakir of the Zaytuna Institute, a non-profit, educational religious institute and school based in Berkeley , California agreed. His advice to President. Obama would be "blame it on Bush and get out." "It's an unwinnable war, it has nothing to do with stopping terrorists, in fact, if anything, it is going to create more animosity towards this country and it is going to create more people who have reasons to seek revenge against this country," said Imam Shakir. President. Obama should not be deterred by the possibility of being called weak by the right-wing, he added. "It takes more strength to do the right thing. Sometimes it takes more strength to walk away from a fight you shouldn't be involved in than to display a false sense of macho and a false sense of courage by engaging in that fight. It takes more courage to defy the warmongers, it takes more courage to defy the militarists, it takes more courage to stand up to admit that you made a mistake," said Imam Shakir. The author is a columnist and researcher
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