Rationale behind Obama-Cameron being upbeat about Afghan situation
Sunday, 12 December 2010
Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury
President Barack Obama of the United States landed recently in Afghanistan in the darkness of night, followed by a trip by British Prime Minister David Cameron. The interest of the two leaders in the war-torn country is too obvious as both are keen to see an early end of the Afghan tangle and consequently, to pull out their troops from there. Both Obama and Cameroon appeared upbeat that the foreign troops would be able to leave Afghanistan, rocked by the resistance of their radical Islamic opponents, in phases beginning 2001 and the pull-out would be complete by 2014.
Clearly, they had gone to the conflict-ridden country to encourage their troops, who are engaged in a long drawn bitter fighting along with their supporters in the Kabul regime of President Hamid Karzai against the "Talebans". The president of the United States has the greatest stake in Afghanistan while the British too have interests as number of their soldiers is only after the Americans, among a plenty of foreign troops. As pressures continue to mount in both the countries for an early return of their troops from Afghanistan, their heads of government lose no opportunity to assure their people that it would be done at the earliest. This assurance notwithstanding, uncertainty hangs over the Afghan scenario about an early denouement of the crisis as many others look askance at the optimism by Washington and London. Some of their allies too hardly share their views on the withdrawal of the foreign troops within a time-frame since the imbroglio continues to defy a settlement that is evidently, a military one and that too in the form of the victory of the US-led forces.
The NATO has more than 1,30,000 troops in Afghanistan and this number will soon swell to 1,50,000 since the United States is dispatching more soldiers to the battlefronts, hoping a quick success against the opponents. True, the NATO forces are making some significant headway in the "Taleban" stronghold and this advancement is paying dividends. Nevertheless, their opponents are not taking things laying down and in the process, the expected progress for the NATO forces is falling short of expectations. Even the commander of the NATO forces in Afghanistan - US general David Petreaus - seldom sees eyen to eye with such optimists that the pull-out of the foreign troops will be possible as early as next year. He definitely happily notes the advancement of his mission, but at the same time is unwilling to be embroiled in any controversy the over the ground realities. Largely successful in the Iraq situation, the American General was given the charge in more difficult Afghanistan as his predecessor committed pas faux by criticizing the high-ups in Washington about the course of the Afghan war.
There is no question that the cost of the Afghan war, both in terms of human and other losses, are simply colossal, particularly for the United States and also to some extent, for Britain as the ten-year old conflict is creating a heavy burden in their economies and otherwise, despite their enormous financial and other prowess. Even though the conflict is not a creation of neither president Obama nor prime minister of Cameroon and they have only inherited the seemingly intractable tangle, both leaders constantly feel the crunch of the necessity of bringing back their troops to home as early as possible. Many in their own countries question the justifiability of the Afghan war, especially its long duration. In the recent NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal, the Afghan crisis dominated the deliberations and a final pull-out from the country by 2014 was approved by the leaders. They stressed that security matters should be taken by the Afghan forces, supported by the NATO and the process must start 2011 and completed in 2014.
Well, it is not any pious hope or thinking as it is possible and needs to be made a reality because of NATO's exigencies and compulsions. Then again, questions remain whether their scheme of things would come true, mainly because of the rupture in the Afghan psyche, including of those in the ruling establishment and the opponents' reluctance towards capitulation.
The unannounced fleeting visits of Obama and Cameroon to Afghanistan is meant to shore up the confidence of their troops, but it remains to be seen if their upbeat mood is matched by the actions in the battle fronts as the coming months are likely to be crucial.
(zaglulbss@yahoo.com)
President Barack Obama of the United States landed recently in Afghanistan in the darkness of night, followed by a trip by British Prime Minister David Cameron. The interest of the two leaders in the war-torn country is too obvious as both are keen to see an early end of the Afghan tangle and consequently, to pull out their troops from there. Both Obama and Cameroon appeared upbeat that the foreign troops would be able to leave Afghanistan, rocked by the resistance of their radical Islamic opponents, in phases beginning 2001 and the pull-out would be complete by 2014.
Clearly, they had gone to the conflict-ridden country to encourage their troops, who are engaged in a long drawn bitter fighting along with their supporters in the Kabul regime of President Hamid Karzai against the "Talebans". The president of the United States has the greatest stake in Afghanistan while the British too have interests as number of their soldiers is only after the Americans, among a plenty of foreign troops. As pressures continue to mount in both the countries for an early return of their troops from Afghanistan, their heads of government lose no opportunity to assure their people that it would be done at the earliest. This assurance notwithstanding, uncertainty hangs over the Afghan scenario about an early denouement of the crisis as many others look askance at the optimism by Washington and London. Some of their allies too hardly share their views on the withdrawal of the foreign troops within a time-frame since the imbroglio continues to defy a settlement that is evidently, a military one and that too in the form of the victory of the US-led forces.
The NATO has more than 1,30,000 troops in Afghanistan and this number will soon swell to 1,50,000 since the United States is dispatching more soldiers to the battlefronts, hoping a quick success against the opponents. True, the NATO forces are making some significant headway in the "Taleban" stronghold and this advancement is paying dividends. Nevertheless, their opponents are not taking things laying down and in the process, the expected progress for the NATO forces is falling short of expectations. Even the commander of the NATO forces in Afghanistan - US general David Petreaus - seldom sees eyen to eye with such optimists that the pull-out of the foreign troops will be possible as early as next year. He definitely happily notes the advancement of his mission, but at the same time is unwilling to be embroiled in any controversy the over the ground realities. Largely successful in the Iraq situation, the American General was given the charge in more difficult Afghanistan as his predecessor committed pas faux by criticizing the high-ups in Washington about the course of the Afghan war.
There is no question that the cost of the Afghan war, both in terms of human and other losses, are simply colossal, particularly for the United States and also to some extent, for Britain as the ten-year old conflict is creating a heavy burden in their economies and otherwise, despite their enormous financial and other prowess. Even though the conflict is not a creation of neither president Obama nor prime minister of Cameroon and they have only inherited the seemingly intractable tangle, both leaders constantly feel the crunch of the necessity of bringing back their troops to home as early as possible. Many in their own countries question the justifiability of the Afghan war, especially its long duration. In the recent NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal, the Afghan crisis dominated the deliberations and a final pull-out from the country by 2014 was approved by the leaders. They stressed that security matters should be taken by the Afghan forces, supported by the NATO and the process must start 2011 and completed in 2014.
Well, it is not any pious hope or thinking as it is possible and needs to be made a reality because of NATO's exigencies and compulsions. Then again, questions remain whether their scheme of things would come true, mainly because of the rupture in the Afghan psyche, including of those in the ruling establishment and the opponents' reluctance towards capitulation.
The unannounced fleeting visits of Obama and Cameroon to Afghanistan is meant to shore up the confidence of their troops, but it remains to be seen if their upbeat mood is matched by the actions in the battle fronts as the coming months are likely to be crucial.
(zaglulbss@yahoo.com)