The Chicago Summit

The recently held Chicago summit failed to achieve the purpose for which it was convened. The obvious aim was to ensure the survival and security of Afghanistan after 2014 when the NATO forces will withdraw from the war-battered country. It is apparent that most NATO member countries are now more interested in pulling out of Afghanistan than establishing durable peace there. In fact, France has already announced that it would withdraw its troops before the end of 2013. The newly elected French President reminded the world in Chicago about the great sacrifices France has made in Afghanistan. It lost about 90 soldiers. Obviously they counted only the men they lost and never bothered to count the men, women and children they killed. But anybody can easily guess that their victims must have been in hundreds and thousands.

The Taliban government was brought down within few days of American and NATO attacks. In fact there was hardly any fight or even resistance against the Americans. Taliban were not damned fool to engage Americans in an open war; they instead did what they were good at doing: the gorilla war. Sadly for Americans this type of war continues even today. All knowledgeable people will agree that Taliban are today better-organised and more powerful than a few years ago. Surely the Americans have realized it which is the reason for finding out the “good Taliban” to negotiate with. Yes, you can smile within your lips. When you fail to eliminate your enemy, divide them into bad and good and negotiate with the later.

Let us go back to Chicago summit. There was no realistic proposal to discuss for the security of Afghanistan after 2014. Obama is good only at one thing: speaking. He told his ‘great ally’, Mr. Karzai that he would not be alone when he stands after 2014; when you will turn around, you will find us there, said the US president.

Obama’s speech has not deceived anybody. He meant—and conveyed it clearly that American air forces will remain there, especially in Bagram, Qandhar and Jalalabad bases. The purpose is obvious. That Taliban gorillas will not be allowed to capture Kabul.

Are Taliban really that powerful that the Americans fear recapture of Kabul by them if they withdraw completely? In the last six or seven years the Americans and the NATO have raised an Afghan army consisting of some 350,000 men. Such a big army should be more than enough to defeat any Taliban attack on Kabul or elsewhere. But this Afghan army is neither well-trained nor very coherent. Only some 50,000 to 90,000 are supposed to be battle ready; the remaining are types of loose irregulars under one or another war lord whose loyalties are also doubtful. In fact they are being held together by American dollar, arms and army.

In retrospect the Americans must think if their invasion and occupation of Afghanistan was the right strategy. Probably it was more a rage than policy or strategy. They knew that Taliban had no hand in 9/11 attack on America. The Americans were outraged that they not only refused to hand Osama over to them but also demanded proof of his involvement in 9/11 attacks. Well, there was never any doubt about the destructive capability of the American army. They showered fire and destruction from the air and the Taliban government was toppled easily. But the man they wanted was ultimately found out by CIA a decade later. This very strategy would have worked a decade earlier also. But then the rage had blinded the American leadership. The result was a complete destruction of Afghanistan which they have found difficult to rebuild and are abandoning today.

(May 2012)