ARTICLES

Waiting for the light

Afghanistan is a deeply religious country bound by unshakeable tribal affinities. If we look at Afghan history, we realise that any attempt at military aggression has met with utter failure. This is greatly helped by its location as it is strategically surrounded by high mountains in the north while the southwest tapers down to vast stretches of plains.

However, these incursions on Afghan soil have not been without a heavy price paid by its people. In the past three decades, the Afghan people have suffered a great deal of losses due to war. Not to mention the loss of lives, especially of its young men and women.

In 2001, after the collapse of the Taliban, the US invaded the country, soon after NATO forces too joined them in the name of restoring stability but stability is the one thing that has so far eluded Afghanistan. According to many International reports and studies by analysts, the West has lost the war in Afghanistan.

So what went wrong in the war in Afghanistan?

The first reason that comes to my mind is that this happened because the US supported a government that was corrupt to begin with. It is no secret that the Karzai administration is made up of several warlords, officials with records of past brutalities and others directly or indirectly involved in the drug trade.  

The second cause of failure was that the concerned Western governments didn’t fully comprehend the importance of honour among tribes in Afghan society. There have been many cases in the southwest where US soldiers have earned the anger and distrust of the local people by forcibly entering their homes. In Afghan society the home is a private area where few acquaintances let alone strangers are allowed to enter.

The bigger issue, however, has been the bombing of civilian areas in order to weed out terror  suspects… Did the US forces expect to earn the trust of the locals by bombing their homes and killing their children? In many cases villagers have turned to the Taliban in deep anger and desperation.

Moreover, the West has time and again failed to understand the meaning of justice and freedom in a largely unlettered society, as well as the importance of democratic consensus followed by tribal leaders in their assemblies or Loya Jirgas.
  
The third reason has been Pakistani intelligent service ISI’s support of the Taliban in its attempt to use Afghanistan as a strategic pawn in its traditional conflict with India. While most Afghans do not want to have anything with this conflict the government is split between its loyalty to Pakistan and its friendship with India.  

The fourth reason has been the Al-Qaida’s abuse of Afghan hospitality. Al-Qaida members have from the very beginning been aware of the Pashtunwali ethos of protecting those who come to them for help.
 
The fifth reason is the opium production that has increased in the south because the government has not lived up to its promise of helping the farmers procure fresh seeds, fertilizers and new strains of rice. In the absence of choice, many have turned to the tried and trusted crop of opium.
  
The sixth reason is Iran’s double game of indirectly supporting Taliban fighters while on the other hand trying to install Shia ethnic groups as majority players in the government.

President Hamid Karzai may have planned to hold a ‘national peace conference’ in an attempt to bring together political, tribal and community leaders to reach a national consensus but chances of its success seem dismal. Because while Taliban leaders are invited to this peace conference, the US has at the same time announced millions of dollars of reward on the heads of these same leaders. Are the Taliban expected to come for the conference to get arrested? 

Since in the absence of all opposition the Taliban has virtually become the only true opposition group speaking against the government and the International powers supporting it, it becomes important to include them in talks. No such Jirga or peace conference can be successful unless these leaders, invited to the conference, are assured that calls for their arrest will be quashed. Only then is it possible to close the gap between the Afghan people and those ruling over them. Only then is it possible to find an end to this nearly decade-old war.

 

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