An Internationally Unpopular War

Sometimes surprises aren’t really surprises as they’re always expected in some way, but are delivered a bit late. Obama is going to reveal his new Afghanistan strategy on coming Tuesday during speech to the cadets at West Point. The top Democrats of U.S. including the Vice President Joe Biden has made it absolutely clear to Obama that he shouldn’t expect a friendly reception if he’s going to announce in favor of the troops surge strategy regarding Afghanistan. Ergo, Obama is under bare poles. As yet, Obama hasn’t informed members of his war council about the decision he’s going to make.

Senator Russell Feingold — another top Democrat — has coneyed his extensive reservations on the direction of president’s strategy. Senator Russel Feingold said: Devoting billions more dollars and tens of thousands more troops to Afghanistan is not likely to significantly improve conditions in that country, and it will not help — and could even hurt — our efforts to dismantle al-Qaeda’s global network with safe havens in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, North Africa and elsewhere.

Another interesting thing to note is that the most hawkish Democrats like Senator Carl M. Levin, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee — and and Senator John F. Kerry, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee — have also expressed their reservations on troops-surge strategy.

In fact Senator Kerry has raised his voice to follow the strategy of Kennedy — that instead of increasing the number of troops, it’d be better if more be done to train the Afghan Army and police and to teach them the counterinsurgency tactics and outfit them with advanced equipments.

The Republicans have endorsed every war-funding bill and strategy sine 9/11, but this time many Republicans also seem to averse the troops surge plus extra war-fundings strategy, while they raise the issue that U.S. — their own homeland — is having monetary trouble — the problematic economic crunch.

Just few days back I read a report on the number of American people opposing the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. As per the poll result — published in Washington Post some days back — 52% of Americans want their troops back home as they find the 8 years results of war futile.

Just today, the German army’s chief of staff has resigned over an air strike in northern Afghanistan in September in which civilians were believed to have been killed. If anything, two Nato countries including Canada and Holland are retreating their troops from Afghanistan soon after Obama is going to announce new war strategy on coming Tuesday. This has caused a bit panic in the Nato countries like Germany and Itlay, and the common perception is that other Nato countries are planning to decrease their number of troops or might retreat all of them. Germany and Italy are silent; simultaneously their silence speaks volume that fighting and elongating the war in Afghanistan is really not practical. Britain is playing an arch-role in swaying the Nato countries.

On the other hand, Pakistan is all wishing that U.S-led Nato forces shouldn’t vacate Afghanistan since it’ll make Pakistan surrounded by it’s arch-foe India from both sides. Indian army is said to have been located in Southern part of Afghanistan, and strategically position of Pakistan is weak, it’d be weak even then.

Some of the officialdom from U.S. say that U.S. is also having secret talks with Afghani Talibans for peace process and for that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are acting as an interlocutors. The recent visit of CIA’s chief to Pakistan and meeting with ISI’s chief, COAS and other Pakistani officialdom does substantiate the fact of U.S’s interest to handle this war in an another way. Afghani Talibans have recently put a condition that to want peace in Afghanistan U.S- led Nato forces should vacate Afghanistan; it’ll become all peaceful and Afghani Talibans would take care of their country in a well way.

As yet, the House of Representatives is echoing with anti-troops surge strategy. The war is becoming unpopular everywhere in the world while in 8 years it has served a literal no good purpose and now the war is about to get enter into its 9th year.

Obama has recently pledged that he’ll put this war to an end by the time he’ll leave the office as he said he’ll not render the Afghanistan war issue to his successor, instead he’d like his successor to deal with other core issues like economy. How could we believe on Obama’s promise now when we’ve just witnessed Obama breaching his own promise of late — when he said that Gitmo can’t be closed down by Jan 2010. Ostensibly, it was Obama’s promise to close down Gitmo and such places while he was on the road to become president — during the election campaigning — the hot campaigning debates and everything connected to it. But conspiciously, he has failed to fill the bill.

In any case, Obama should unite the people of U.S, and the rest of the world badly affected by the bloody war, while making any decision.