NATO Forces Unable To Control Handful of Taliban

'The coming days in Afghanistan will be very tough. We have outlined a plan to drive the Taliban out of Kandahar. The operation, which will be carried out in the environs of Kandahar City will not be conventional.' These words were uttered by General David Petreaus. Recently, he conducted a secret visit to some of the Afghan cities amidst high security. In the end, he closely observed the situation in Kandahar.

Deteriorating Situation
On return, he confessed during a press conference: 'The security situation in Kandahar is constantly deteriorating. We will have painful moments during the coming weeks. The inhabitants of Kandahar will have to prepare themselves for extreme problems, as we expect tough resistance from the Taliban. Despite all troubles, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces and the Afghan Army will launch a joint decisive operation. The purpose of the operation is to drive the Taliban out of Kandahar. The United States will channel all its energy in this operation.'

Readers, exactly four months ago, the United States had invaded Helmand, the second major Taliban center. A similar announcement had been made prior to striking Marjah. Supported by its allies, the United States had announced that the Taliban will be wiped out from their stronghold, Helmand. It made much clamor about the firmness of its resolve and about carrying it out. Military contingents were selected from the fresh 30,000 troops that had just arrived from the United States. The allies were told that the operation would be successful. However, all the imperialist forces joined together could not wipe out the Taliban. However, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Spain did have to suffer irrecoverable loss.

Extreme Psychological Pressure
According to reliable sources, the death toll during the first month of Helmand Operation, from 15 January to 15 February stood at 877. These figures are only of those bodies that landed on airport in beautiful coffins, which the high ups had come to salute. The situation from 16 February to 16 March was even more horrible. The number of the dead bodies of the US and NATO soldiers, whose coffins reached their homes, was 1391. The number of destroyed vehicles of the United States and NATO was 141. The number of armed vehicles and tanks was 342; while, trucks and oil tankers were 51; helicopters and aircrafts were seven; drones were five. The total number of the killed US and NATO soldiers is 2,268.

While writing this article, I have before me a whole pile of English, Arabic and Urdu reports, in which the figures of US soldiers, killed from 2001 to March 2010, is given. I labored hard to calculate the figures, which are as follows: total US Army 7374, US Navy 176, marine 1686, air force 260. The total number is 9496. Other than this, those wounded and crippled are numberless. The soldiers and security personnel, who have survived, are victim to extreme psychological pressure. The demand made by the people of the United States for ending this war has intensified.

According to a recent survey, Obama's popularity has declined by 55 percent because in his electoral campaign, he had announced to change the entire world and end wars. However, today's world has become the most horrible of all. The situation in Afghanistan is going from bad to worse. The US and NATO forces have panicked. In panic, they are firing bombs on Afghan people and defenseless civilians. The NATO soldiers are unable to hit their targets. From this you can very well imagine how frightened they are.

Achieving Desired Results
On 14 and 15 February, the NATO aircrafts killed 17 innocent, common citizens. Agencies like Amnesty International say that the joint operation is killing more common citizens than the Taliban. General Stanley McChrystal also had to apologize on this score. In other words, the Taliban are fighting in more organized way. They have planted field mines at all the entry paths of the city. A net of field mines has also been spread in the interior city. They are giving tough time to the US and NATO forces with self-made bombs. On the other hand, the NATO forces are using every tactic, fair as well as foul, to achieve the desired results. Yet, they are unable to control a handful of the Taliban.

Moreover, several Afghan groups are joining Taliban. According to a report, 25 Afghan policemen, who had been fighting shoulder to shoulder with the NATO forces, have joined Taliban. They have handed over their weapons and equipment to the Taliban and have announced to fight against the allies, along with the Taliban. This report is quite remarkable.

Quagmire of Afghanistan
On 20 February, Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, speaker of the Afghan Parliament, resigned from his position in support of the Taliban. That is why the United States and its allies are worried. They are trying to get out of the quagmire of Afghanistan. However, they can find no honorable withdrawal.

Last week, the meeting of the foreign minister of the 28 NATO countries was held in Tallinn, a city in East European country Estonia. At the meeting, all the foreign ministers, including the US secretary of state, agreed that the security responsibilities would start to be hand over to the Afghan force during the ongoing year.

US Success in Afghanistan Becomes Grim

These days American politicians, think-tanks, newspapers, and journals are giving more importance to the Afghan war than to the one in Iraq. The debate on the Afghan war heated up after the recent analysis of General Stanley McChrystal, in which he said that the Afghan war was a difficult situation, but not impossible for the Americans to win. However, America will have to come up with a new policy for Afghanistan, in which the protection of Afghan civilians from the Taliban should be a number one priority.
According to General Stanley, rebuilding peoples' trust in the state is as important as protecting the civilian population from Taliban attacks. He is in favor of a dialogue with the Taliban, as well as increasing American troops in Afghanistan. General Stanley says that 60 per cent of the Taliban can be neutralized by offering them jobs.
Impact on US National Political Scene
Another senior American politician and former National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, who served as US President Barack Obama's advisor for international relations during his election campaign, has warned that if the American government does not make long lasting changes in its Afghan policy, America will meet the same fate in Afghanistan as the Soviet Union did. These analyses and opinions expressed by American politicians and commanders are being presented at a time when 51 per cent Americans feel there is no justification for fighting the Afghan war, while only 48 per cent think that President Obama was making the right decisions in Afghanistan. These opposing views and negative analyses originating from American politicians and commanders are having an impact on the American national political scene. This has raised a lot of questions for President Obama.
There are chances that support for the Afghan war in his own Democratic Party will go down and, that, he may have to rely on the opposition to send more troops to Afghanistan. The main factors which are increasing problems for Obama over the Afghan war include growing unpopularity of this war among the American public, a rising death toll of American troops, deterioration of the American economy; and lack of trust in the Afghan government by the Afghan masses and American policy-makers. Reports about election rigging in the recent Presidential polls have further lowered this trust.
Support for Afghan War
Support for the Afghan war among the Democratic Party has also gone down due to the absence of a timetable for the exit of American troops from Afghanistan, and a slow pace in training the Afghan National Army. Senior leaders in the Democratic Party, among them Senator Carl Levin, are pressurizing President Obama to ensure a clear training program for the Afghan Army before sending more American troops to Afghanistan.
The total strength of the current Afghan army is 134,000 and a deadline of 2012 has been fixed to take it up to 250,000. American politicians, analysts and intellectuals, all seem to be divided into two groups at the moment. One group believes that American troops in Afghanistan should be reduced and the war should be fought by using Predator Drone jets and other modern technology, while keeping a few soldiers on the ground. The other group believes that it would be impossible to win the Afghan war without the presence of American troops in Afghanistan. It believes it is imperative to increase American troops in Afghanistan to win the Afghan war.
Rise of Taliban
The rise in bloody attacks by the Taliban, despite additional American troops and an increase in the Afghan National Army, are a source of concern for Washington and a crucial test for American political leadership. Despite a regular increase in American troops, the activities of the Taliban have not slowed down.
So, what guarantee is there that the Taliban could be controlled with an increase in the number of American troops in Afghanistan? The group that opposes American exit from Afghanistan believes that such a move will not only adversely affect Afghanistan's security, but will also destabilize Pakistan and open up new hide-outs for Al Qaida in Pakistan's Tribal Areas.
Despite the increase in bloody attacks by the Taliban, the decrease in the production of opium in Afghanistan could definitely be used as a positive argument for continued American stay in Afghanistan. According to some American analysts, which include Seth Jones of the Rand Corporation, the major cause of failure of American policies in Afghanistan during the past eight years was Washington's over emphasis on setting up a strong central government in Kabul. Whereas Max Boot, of the Council on Foreign Relations, believes that America needs 660,000 soldiers in Afghanistan to defeat the Afghan Taliban, which is an unachievable target. However, this target could be achieved by recruiting a traditional army which is only possible if Washington forgets about concentrating all its energies on forming a strong central government in Kabul. Rather, it should focus on strengthening and organizing the various Afghan tribes in keeping with their local customs, is prepared to delegate authority and involve local communities in the process of development.
US Afghan Policy
The major benefit of this approach will be to decrease support for the Taliban among the local population, bearing in mind that it would be impossible to defeat the Taliban without the support of trained, armed and organized local groups. It is difficult to say to what extent this debate will affect America's Afghan policy.
However, one thing is certain that possible changes in America's regional policies are increasing with each passing day. Efforts are going on behind-the scenes to this effect. Some Afghan diplomats have also become active in this regard. We will talk about them next time.