By: Azhar Azam
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in "The Express Tribune":
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2155721/6-trumps-tumbling-afghanistan-strategy/
Donald Trump, in April 2017, unveiled his Afghanistan strategy and cited fraught Iraq conditions to back down from his original instinct of US troops’ pull out from “Superpowers’ memorial park”, admitting at the same time that his compatriots were weary of war without victory.
Blithe president then vouched to start a hostile military spell against Afghan Taliban to get hold of a political settlement with them in future and charted his idea to integrate diplomatic, economic and military instruments for a prolific outcome. He also imputed Pakistan for often providing “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence and terror” even though Washington had waged Islamabad “billions and billions of dollars”.
In pursuance of the remodeled approach, the US forces rained bombs at the hideouts of the Afghan resistant group in Afghanistan as well as scolded its former non-NATO ally Pakistan. But the armed conflict scooped the civilian casualties in the battle-shawled country by 5% to 10,993 in 2018.
Though Anti-Government Elements (AGEs) were responsible for most of the civilian casualties, yet the US-led airstrikes too killed roughly the same number of noncombatants in 2018 as in 2014, 2015 and 2016 combined. So both the flanks dissipatedly molested the innocent Afghan folks to show off their nascent sway in the brutal face off.
Nearly one and a half year of its proclamation and after over 18 years of onerous war, Trump’s Afghanistan strategy has audibly crumbled and he is inordinately nonplused as how to end the American insoluble impasse in the cemetery of world’s most formidable militaries. American military casualties in the NATO-led non-combat Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS) RSM had reached 642 including 83 deaths as of January 6.
Given that China, Pakistan, Russia and the US were wielding a cohesive diplomatic effort for a political settlement in Afghanistan – American unilateral military action to pile up military pressure on Taliban to influence Doha peace talks and the subsequent Trump’s snappy cancellation of the crucial exchanges was hapless.
Washington was perhaps circumspect of the growing involvement of Beijing, Moscow and to some extent Tehran. Since Taliban paid visits the three countries, Trump ostensibly butchered the Doha talks in fright of Afghan militants’ mounting inclination toward the US near-peer competitors or adversaries. The US establishment stalled the peace process also to gauge Afghan forces’ administrative and combat capabilities to hold Afghanistan’s September elections in a chaotic environment.
As Taliban sustained to gain control in Afghanistan and Afghan elections sparked more disturbances in the country, the US had no choice but to renew the peace talks with the armed group. Trump’s surprise Thanksgiving visit to the US troops in Afghanistan in late November was to apprise them that the peace talks are going to resurrect soon and many of them would be coming back home soon.
Washington desperately craves to unload Kabul in wake of surging public and veteran pressure that are roughly at the identical footing about US troop withdrawal from the invincible country or the war costs were too strident to sustain US overseas operation. Demand to repeal the US 2001 Authorization for use of Military Force (AUMF) and jettison Afghanistan are the rare consensus points for nearly all of the 2020 Democratic candidates.
The US cost of war in Afghanistan now outstrips that of Iraq. Comptroller’s cost of war report recounted that between 11-September-2001 and 31-March-2019, DOD had obligated more than $1.5 trillion on Overseas Contingency Operations (OCOs) – $730.9 billion on Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and $755.7 billion on OEF/OFS in Afghanistan.
All the latest developments, ceaseless American causalities and the prodigal use of the US taxpayers’ money guide towards the inklings that the US has unequivocally yielded a defeat to the endless war in Afghanistan. And it has lately towed Pakistan to trail a face-saving exit from the battle-scarred country while keeping a little intelligence footprint to invigilate China, Russia and Iran.
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in "The Express Tribune":
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2155721/6-trumps-tumbling-afghanistan-strategy/
Donald Trump, in April 2017, unveiled his Afghanistan strategy and cited fraught Iraq conditions to back down from his original instinct of US troops’ pull out from “Superpowers’ memorial park”, admitting at the same time that his compatriots were weary of war without victory.
Blithe president then vouched to start a hostile military spell against Afghan Taliban to get hold of a political settlement with them in future and charted his idea to integrate diplomatic, economic and military instruments for a prolific outcome. He also imputed Pakistan for often providing “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence and terror” even though Washington had waged Islamabad “billions and billions of dollars”.
In pursuance of the remodeled approach, the US forces rained bombs at the hideouts of the Afghan resistant group in Afghanistan as well as scolded its former non-NATO ally Pakistan. But the armed conflict scooped the civilian casualties in the battle-shawled country by 5% to 10,993 in 2018.
Though Anti-Government Elements (AGEs) were responsible for most of the civilian casualties, yet the US-led airstrikes too killed roughly the same number of noncombatants in 2018 as in 2014, 2015 and 2016 combined. So both the flanks dissipatedly molested the innocent Afghan folks to show off their nascent sway in the brutal face off.
Nearly one and a half year of its proclamation and after over 18 years of onerous war, Trump’s Afghanistan strategy has audibly crumbled and he is inordinately nonplused as how to end the American insoluble impasse in the cemetery of world’s most formidable militaries. American military casualties in the NATO-led non-combat Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS) RSM had reached 642 including 83 deaths as of January 6.
Given that China, Pakistan, Russia and the US were wielding a cohesive diplomatic effort for a political settlement in Afghanistan – American unilateral military action to pile up military pressure on Taliban to influence Doha peace talks and the subsequent Trump’s snappy cancellation of the crucial exchanges was hapless.
Washington was perhaps circumspect of the growing involvement of Beijing, Moscow and to some extent Tehran. Since Taliban paid visits the three countries, Trump ostensibly butchered the Doha talks in fright of Afghan militants’ mounting inclination toward the US near-peer competitors or adversaries. The US establishment stalled the peace process also to gauge Afghan forces’ administrative and combat capabilities to hold Afghanistan’s September elections in a chaotic environment.
As Taliban sustained to gain control in Afghanistan and Afghan elections sparked more disturbances in the country, the US had no choice but to renew the peace talks with the armed group. Trump’s surprise Thanksgiving visit to the US troops in Afghanistan in late November was to apprise them that the peace talks are going to resurrect soon and many of them would be coming back home soon.
Washington desperately craves to unload Kabul in wake of surging public and veteran pressure that are roughly at the identical footing about US troop withdrawal from the invincible country or the war costs were too strident to sustain US overseas operation. Demand to repeal the US 2001 Authorization for use of Military Force (AUMF) and jettison Afghanistan are the rare consensus points for nearly all of the 2020 Democratic candidates.
The US cost of war in Afghanistan now outstrips that of Iraq. Comptroller’s cost of war report recounted that between 11-September-2001 and 31-March-2019, DOD had obligated more than $1.5 trillion on Overseas Contingency Operations (OCOs) – $730.9 billion on Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and $755.7 billion on OEF/OFS in Afghanistan.
All the latest developments, ceaseless American causalities and the prodigal use of the US taxpayers’ money guide towards the inklings that the US has unequivocally yielded a defeat to the endless war in Afghanistan. And it has lately towed Pakistan to trail a face-saving exit from the battle-scarred country while keeping a little intelligence footprint to invigilate China, Russia and Iran.