AFGHANISTAN.IS IT ANOTHER VEITNAM?

AFGHANISTAN. IS IT ANOTHER VEITNAM?
BY DR. KHURSHID ALAM. DATED16 NOV.09. khurshidalam5@hotmail.com
Hopes are receding with every passing day that an early solution of Afghan problem is in sight. Those who inflicting this weeping wound on the body of Global village must be licking their wounds but ultimately it is the poor Afghans who are paying the price.
Afghanistan once the most peaceful country in the world and a place of attraction for foreign tourist is now a graveyard to millions, home to million disabled, widows, orphans and in millions are scattered through out the world.
The country is totally destroyed there is a hardly a wall without having a bullet wound or the black scar of gunpowder.
Sectarian Hizbs or ISI either killed the majority of intellectuals. Those who were left managed to escape from the country to settle in other countries. Robbed of their national pride, history, peace and freedom they were the immigrants of second BIG GAME.
In the battle of capitalism and socialism Afghanistan was torn in to pieces. The Afghans and Afghanistan were left to bleed till their last drop of blood. UK and US packed up and left it to the local loyalist to play with brutalised and injured Afghanistan.
The global events were changing with a great pace. To the bad luck of the world Bush, Dick and Blair took the charge and after Iraq invasion Afghanistan problem was put in cold storage.
The electoral victory of Obama was a new chapter in the world history and changed the perception of people globally for better and peaceful world.
Soon after Obama take over and his diplomatic offensive and involvement of the local stakeholders were positive steps. The hopes were on increase.
In last 2-3 months the situation has turned for the worst. The NATO forces are meeting tough resistance and the number of causalities is on increase. The law and order situation is worsening. The hopes have dashed down.
American strategist must be studying the situation thread by thread. It is basically a military failure of ISAF forces led by US & UK. Apart from Afghanistan’s strategic importance American debacle in Afghanistan will put its international credibility at a stake.
Americans are trying to shift the blame of their failure to the Afghan government that is plagued by corruption and incompetency. This could be one of the reasons and must be accepted. But on the other hand the government could show its credibility if there were some means at their disposal. There is basically none.
The ground realities are responsible for American military debacle and Hamid Karzai political decline. He has a pleasant personality and talk logically but has failed to broaden the basis of his government.
There are many reasons like the presence of warlords, money launderers and corrupt people in his government. Another thing which I observed that the instead of solving the intra governmental problems, they are patching them temporarily and brushed under the carpet. In addition to them due to lack of education influential warlords and heroin growers fill the political vacuum.
Heroin is a double-edged sword, for those in government it is important to recruit political muscle, those who are opposing the government it is source to keep the monster of war rolling.
A big chunk of the aid is spent on administrative set up which goes back to the donor countries, a significant portion is lost on its way from Karachi to Kabul and the rest is either embezzled or not used at all or used without planning.
The most important factor in my view is the failure of Americans, British and Afghan rulers to take on board the real opposition to the present set up, which is Afghan Taliban. It is a point, usually avoided in political discussions in Kabul. This is my honest opinion that this is the problem no. 1. The more we avoid it the more will be this blood let.
It reminds me that once I asked a diplomat of USSR in Afghanistan Embassy in London that being a super power; how on earth they made such a blunder to look at Afghan tribal society with Russian’s eye and implementing an international system.
He laughed and said that he being a Russian will look at every thing from that angle and told me to ask my own leaders, why were they looking at their country with Russian Eye? I was made speechless by his comments.
I feel that Americans and Afghan leadership is repeating the same mistake. They must keep this in mind that no matter how poor they are but they cannot tolerate a foreign force on their land. This proud nation plays with their destiny to defend their pride.
It is a waste of time, resources and energy to invest in Pakistan. To organise a regional approach to the afghan conflict without taking all Afghans on board will be a futile exercise. They can be more productive if the real parties at war are taken on board.
It was surprising for me that the Taliban were more successful to exploit the Afghans, for they’re under represented in the government. They felt as if they were robbed of their history. Karzai administration was considered as anti AFGHAN in its composition and intentions. It was considered the duplication of the Prof. Rabbani government.
It did take me some time to take them in confidence but once they started talking they were in no mood to hide any thing. The businessmen told me that they couldn’t put the Photo of Dr. Najeeb in their shops windows, while Ahmad Shah Masood portrait is officially on all governmental building.
They were critical about the money being spent to construct the mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Masood. And criticised me too for visiting Ahmad Shah tomb and asked me sarcastically that have I visited the grave of Najeeb? Laughed loudly that Americans or Karzai is also paying me.
Some of them were bluntly to the point that the Americans toppled the government of Afghans and replaced it government by northern front. Hamid Karzai is just a figurehead and he is also scared to speak in Afghani on radio or TV.
When I told them that Pakistan might use it, to disintegrate the geographical unity of Afghanistan They just laughed it away that they have been cheated by this slogan by all rulers in the past.
One of the young government official told me that why it should disintegrate the unity of Afghanistan if we ask for all nationalities representation on population basis and insisted that we accept the right of all but not at the cost of ours.
I was surprised that I heard the same with equal ferocity in highly educated intellectuals, students, businessmen and even the third and fourth rank Taliban fighters. They all emphasized that it was America and Pakistan who gave our state to others and made us second-class citizens.
They were really annoyed by appointing Gen. Dostam as the chief of staff and reminded me that he will do the same to Karzai as he did to Dr. Najeeb. But one thing was common in them that they had contempt for Pakistanis and Americans and referred to Pakistanis by the name of Punjabis.
They showed their displeasure with our nationalist leaders, except for few adjectives for Mahmud khan Achakzai.
One of the very high officials told me that I must visit Afghanistan once again to listen to the missing links of our history, that who was the person to kill Taliban commander. When he expressed his wish to free Dr. Najeeb when they capture Kabul. On my request he told me that he was a Punjabi army officer and invited me to visit the shrine of that commander.
After my that visit I came to the following conclusions:
-If Afghanistan wants to solve the problems they should solve the nationalities question in their country
- If Afghanistan can talk to Pakistan why should not they talk to Taliban?
-Taliban struggle was basically afghan nationalist struggle but was hijacked by ISI and soaked sectarian hatred
-I cannot say about the top Taliban leadership, but I think they are mercenaries of ISI and Saudi but the younger commanders are mostly the descendents of Afghan Millat.
- Carrot & stick is the policy to be followed
- There can’t be peace if Americans are there. America should change the strategy and replace ISAF by Peace keeping force of those Muslim countries that are not stakeholders in Afghanistan problem or have never been involved.
-The western countries should prepare a master plan for reconstruction of Afghanistan
- Taliban is asking that American should vacate but it should be applicable to all mercenaries including Al Qaeda and all foreign nationals.
- The leadership on east of Durand line and FATA should be involved in the process.
- As President Karzai told us in his discussion that all foreign forces will come to Afghanistan with their own agenda only afghans will have afghan agenda. It should be implemented in words and spirit.
- The de franchise of Afghans must come to an end, without compromising the rights of other nationalities.