US should leave Afghanistan

Addressing the inaugural session of a 'Loya jirga' in Kabul on Wednesday President Hamid Karzai tried to sell what he described as a strategic partnership deal with the US to govern Afghan -American relations after the withdrawal of Nato combat troops in 2014. He went to talk of some irrelevant demands such as US' stopping of night raids and disbanding of international bodies, like combined civilian-military reconstruction teams. These were the conditions, he said, in return for which Afghanistan was prepared to host US troops for the longer-term. More to the point, he said "If they want military installations, we will allow them, it is in our benefit. Money will come to us and our forces will be trained." In short, the US wants to maintain military basis in Afghanistan post the scheduled troop withdrawal date. The deal is in line with the US security plans for the Arabian Gulf. Notably, the last American soldier in Iraq is to return home by the end of the next month. Yet American forces will remain in the region, though with a different profile. Ground combat troops will be repositioned in Kuwait, while naval warships are to patrol the nearby international waters. As per Central Command chief Major General Karl R. Horst's reported remarks, the focus would be on smaller but highly capable deployments and training partnerships with regional militaries. The purpose of this presence in the Gulf region of course is to secure Washington's oil interests and also to keep Iran under check. The US is trying to replicate the same kind of arrangement in Afghanistan: combat ready troops in military bases from where they can protect and promote its interest in the region's New Great Game, countering Chinese and Russian moves. And of course, Afghanistan's next door neighbour, Iran, can be dealt with in a suitable fashion. Try as it may, what is easily doable in the Gulf region is almost impossible here. It is hard to imagine the Taliban accepting any such arrangement. Their first and last condition for meaningful talks to end the war is complete withdrawal of all foreign forces. No wonder as Karzai articulated US' plan before a gathering of handpicked Afghan 'elders' under a maximum security alert, the Taliban said those supporting a long-term American presence in the country would be considered "traitors" and "deserving of harsh penalties." The idea is also of concern to the region's influential players, which is why Karzai tried to offer the reassurance that any strategic partnership deal with the US would not affect "Afghanistan's good relations with neighbours such as China, Russia and others." His assurances count for nothing. China, Russia and others are unlikely to quietly accept American military bases in a region so close and of so much geo-strategic interest to them. The war will be prolonged, and that unfortunate country turned into a fresh hotbed of international rivalries and intrigues. Pakistan, it goes without saying, will be adversely affected too. What is needed is a deal under which the Taliban agree to respect human rights and share power with other ethnic communities in return for all foreign forces leaving Afghanistan, and its neighbours agreeing to treat it as an independent, neutral country. Copyright Business Recorder, 2011