By: Azhar Azam
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in "The Express Tribune":
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2139348/6-afghanistan-top-us-priority/
In December 2014, the former US President Barrack Obama formally ended the 13-year US combat mission – Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) or the war in Afghanistan – claiming that the longest war in American history had come to a “responsible conclusion”.
First African American head of state forthwith announced to launch the ongoing non-combat campaign, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS) as part of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission (RSM), to train, advise and assist Afghan security forces and institutions and conduct counter-terrorism operations against remnants of al-Qaeda.
After Trump’s 2017 Afghanistan strategy, to launch hostile military campaign on Afghan Taliban and rebuke Pakistan, backfired and since Washington was bursting to chuck out Kabul – the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appointed Zalmay Khalilzad to a newly created post of Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation in September 2018 to oversee the looming peace talks with Afghan Taliban in Qatar and hold consultations with Afghan, Pakistan and other regional governments.
Khalilzad frequently trekked to Islamabad and exhorted the Afghan-adjacent country to use its influence in brining Taliban to the negotiation table for a political settlement in the battle-scarred republic. In September, Pompeo and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford arrived in Pakistan to retune the stained US-Pakistan diplomatic and military relations.
The influx of large number of top US political and military officials in Pakistan and the subsequent Trump’s letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan – which sought Islamabad‘s assistance and facilitation for a political settlement in Afghanistan – underscored Pakistan’s pivotal role in brokering peace dialogue between US and Taliban and eventually provide a willowy exit to the world’s most powerful military from Kabul.
Perceiving that the peace and stability in the devastated land was a shared responsibility, Islamabad responded earnestly and afterward played a pivotal role in persuading Taliban to kick off a peace dialogue with Washington started in Doha, Qatar within next few months.
Pakistan role in facilitating Taliban-US talks was greatly appreciated by the US. In its 2019 report to the Congress, the US Department of Defense (DOD) admitted Pakistan’s active patronage for Afghan reconciliation and its contributions in bringing Taliban to the negotiation table. The report further acknowledged that Pakistan security forces were fighting and conducting counter-terrorism operations against US-designated terrorist organizations ISIS-K and AQIS in its territory.
Unfortunately, all Pakistan’s concentrated, hardcore and peacemaking efforts were tainted after Trump busted the peace talks with Taliban through a cascade of his tweets on September 8. While the US president accused the armed group for building “false leverage” by continuing their attacks – in truth, American forces assumed the very same pugnacious maneuvers to strengthen the US bargaining position.
Amid extensive peace talks, the US dropped 613 and 753 weapons in the months of July and August respectively in Afghanistan – higher than many months since OFS/ORS was started in 2015. US Commander in Afghanistan General Austin Miller’s remarks that America had “dialed up” military pressure on Taliban “to shape the political pressure” and keep them on the negotiation table was a brusque confession that the US wronged the Afghan civilians for its strategic interests.
Again Afghan civilians fell prey to the offensives from either of the sides and their casualties increased 42% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2019 to reach a total of 8,239 including 2,563 killing for January to September 2019. Pro and anti-government forces were approximately equally indictable for the sharp rise in Afghan civilian fatalities.
It is hence pretty pellucid that Afghanistan is no more on the US foreign policy’s top priorities agenda. Indeed, it had decided to leave war-torn country in 2014 when it ended OEF and initiated OFS/RSM. Ex-National Security member riposte to SIGAR the same year “Your job was not to win, it was to not lose” gave a clear-eyed view of the US backdoor withdrawal strategy in Afghanistan.
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in "The Express Tribune":
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2139348/6-afghanistan-top-us-priority/
In December 2014, the former US President Barrack Obama formally ended the 13-year US combat mission – Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) or the war in Afghanistan – claiming that the longest war in American history had come to a “responsible conclusion”.
First African American head of state forthwith announced to launch the ongoing non-combat campaign, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS) as part of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission (RSM), to train, advise and assist Afghan security forces and institutions and conduct counter-terrorism operations against remnants of al-Qaeda.
After Trump’s 2017 Afghanistan strategy, to launch hostile military campaign on Afghan Taliban and rebuke Pakistan, backfired and since Washington was bursting to chuck out Kabul – the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appointed Zalmay Khalilzad to a newly created post of Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation in September 2018 to oversee the looming peace talks with Afghan Taliban in Qatar and hold consultations with Afghan, Pakistan and other regional governments.
Khalilzad frequently trekked to Islamabad and exhorted the Afghan-adjacent country to use its influence in brining Taliban to the negotiation table for a political settlement in the battle-scarred republic. In September, Pompeo and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford arrived in Pakistan to retune the stained US-Pakistan diplomatic and military relations.
The influx of large number of top US political and military officials in Pakistan and the subsequent Trump’s letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan – which sought Islamabad‘s assistance and facilitation for a political settlement in Afghanistan – underscored Pakistan’s pivotal role in brokering peace dialogue between US and Taliban and eventually provide a willowy exit to the world’s most powerful military from Kabul.
Perceiving that the peace and stability in the devastated land was a shared responsibility, Islamabad responded earnestly and afterward played a pivotal role in persuading Taliban to kick off a peace dialogue with Washington started in Doha, Qatar within next few months.
Pakistan role in facilitating Taliban-US talks was greatly appreciated by the US. In its 2019 report to the Congress, the US Department of Defense (DOD) admitted Pakistan’s active patronage for Afghan reconciliation and its contributions in bringing Taliban to the negotiation table. The report further acknowledged that Pakistan security forces were fighting and conducting counter-terrorism operations against US-designated terrorist organizations ISIS-K and AQIS in its territory.
Unfortunately, all Pakistan’s concentrated, hardcore and peacemaking efforts were tainted after Trump busted the peace talks with Taliban through a cascade of his tweets on September 8. While the US president accused the armed group for building “false leverage” by continuing their attacks – in truth, American forces assumed the very same pugnacious maneuvers to strengthen the US bargaining position.
Amid extensive peace talks, the US dropped 613 and 753 weapons in the months of July and August respectively in Afghanistan – higher than many months since OFS/ORS was started in 2015. US Commander in Afghanistan General Austin Miller’s remarks that America had “dialed up” military pressure on Taliban “to shape the political pressure” and keep them on the negotiation table was a brusque confession that the US wronged the Afghan civilians for its strategic interests.
Again Afghan civilians fell prey to the offensives from either of the sides and their casualties increased 42% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2019 to reach a total of 8,239 including 2,563 killing for January to September 2019. Pro and anti-government forces were approximately equally indictable for the sharp rise in Afghan civilian fatalities.
It is hence pretty pellucid that Afghanistan is no more on the US foreign policy’s top priorities agenda. Indeed, it had decided to leave war-torn country in 2014 when it ended OEF and initiated OFS/RSM. Ex-National Security member riposte to SIGAR the same year “Your job was not to win, it was to not lose” gave a clear-eyed view of the US backdoor withdrawal strategy in Afghanistan.