“Someday, after an effective military effort, perhaps it will be possible to have a political settlement” – Trump’s fuzzy thoughts on Afghanistan’s future
Resident of Central Asia
23 August 2017 (nCa)—The latest statement of president Trump on future policy and military guideline in Afghanistan and broader South Asia hardly can be called the “strategy.”
Strategy is a high level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty, says explanatory dictionary.
Ok, even cursory review of the so-called strategy tells that there is nothing resembling any kind of ‘high-level’ plan, and surely, there is nothing new or surprising in high-epithet remarks of Mr. Trump. The evident ongoing demeanour of US at world arena has been restated and reconfirmed.
The Trump’s idea on further involvement in Afghanistan lies in three fundamental conclusions:
First, the nation of America deserve the “plan for a victory”.
Second, in Trump’s opinion, the consequences of a rapid withdrawal are both predictable and unacceptable. So, he has decided to stay in Afghanistan. And henceforward, USA will shift from ‘time-based’ approach to conditions.
Thirdly, Trump has promised the military free hand in struggle against 20 terrorist and criminal groups operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
However, he explained very honestly: “We are not nation-building again. We are killing terrorists.” There is a need to take a pause for bitter applause.
Bravo Mr. Trump! You have authorized your warriors to commit more and more crimes on the wider mass scale. This means that more Afghan villages, more towns, more cities, more wedding corteges or funeral ceremonies, more mosques will be destroyed and suffered under the motto of a new deadly agenda – the strategy of real true terror.
Over 100 thousand deaths among civilians, caused directly or indirectly by the US-unleashed war are on the conscience of the United States (if there is a conscience at all). One third of the dead are children. More than half a million people were forced to leave their homes. And it seems, Trump is aimed at increasing these terrible indicators.
Trump’s statement has outlined the intentions on Pakistan. White House will harness all possible methods of pressure — diplomatic, political and economic — in order to drive out all terrorists from the shelters and prevent nuclear weapons from coming into hands of terrorists.
Contrastingly, Trump has called India the key political ally in South Asia and even expressed the intention to develop a strategic partnership. He has also urged India to help more in Afghan crisis.
The picture is quite touching — The teacher praises a student and grades poor to the negligent one.
With a deep examination of the roots, origins and historical facts (this requires a wide digression into history and is impossible within the framework of this article), the whole nightmare of the war in Afghanistan resembles the scene from the play “Taras Bulba” of Russian classical writer Nicolay Gogol, when the father told his son before the murder – “I gave you life, I will take it!”.
Central Asia, as the neighbor of Afghanistan, should take a closer look at the situation. What is fraught with Trump’s South Asian line to the Central Asian region? There are some weighty and obvious points of the contradiction between the regional agenda and declared policy of Trump:
– The emerging transport and transit connectivity plans (for example, TAT, potential of Pakistan port Gwadar), the multilateral energy projects, propelled by the CA region+Pakistan (for example TAPI, CASA 1000, TUTAP) naturally embrace Afghanistan. And all these projects pursue the most noble goals with respect to Afghanistan — socio-economic revival of the country in order to put Afghanistan on its own feet.
– South Asia and Central Asia intend to establish sustained trade and economic relations through the transport and communication corridors, which would pass via Afghanistan;
– The region as a whole stands for the settlement of the Afghan situation only through peaceful inter-ethnic dialogue. Afghanistan’s neighbor, Turkmenistan, has repeatedly confirmed its readiness to provide political space for hosting inter-Afghan peace talks under the auspices of the United Nations.
Hopefully, Central Asia’s positive focus on peace and stability in the region, including Afghanistan, would not be overshadowed by the hate-filled and odious strategy of the Oval Office.