News Analysis |
“Kabul cannot survive without US military and financial assistance”. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani confessed that the Afghan national army wouldn’t survive 6 months without the US. He said this while giving an interview to a television show CBS 60 minutes. American taxpayers contribute more than 90% to the Afghan military budget. President Ghani revealed Afghanistan’s total dependence on the US for survival. “We will not be able to support our army for six months without US support and US capabilities… Because we don’t have the money,” Ghani said.
President Ashraf Ghani stated that more than 21 international terrorist groups are operating in Afghanistan and they can strike them at any time. “Dozens of suicide bombers are being sent. There are factories producing suicide bombers. We are under siege,” Ghani said fearing for the safety of his nation. Afghanistan lacks the military and financial capabilities to tackle the terrorist groups fighting in their country even after America poured 700 billion dollars into Afghanistan as military aid. The results of American efforts are nowhere to be seen since Afghanistan is still utterly dependent on US support for its survival.
Similar operations need to take place on Afghan soil for the stability of the region. The Afghan war has no end in sight but making Pakistan a scapegoat for the failures in Afghanistan will achieve no purpose.
In the past 16 years, 2000 American soldiers lost their lives in Afghanistan and millions of dollars were poured in. Last week, the Pentagon announced to send 1000 more military personnel into Afghanistan. Currently 14,000 US troops are stationed in Afghanistan including the 3,000 that President Trump sent last year. It is still not clear what an extra 1000 can achieve what the NATO troops at their peak of 150,000 troops couldn’t achieve. Now with the reduced number of American soldiers on the ground, the Taliban are gaining more territories, it will be very hard for the US to make a comeback in Afghanistan.
Read more: IS operating in Kabul under noses of US forces
In August 2017, President Donald Trump announced a new Afghanistan strategy and vowed full support for Afghanistan. He plans on increasing the military presence in Afghanistan. This apparent new strategy offers nothing new but is merely a roll back to the pre-Obama strategy. Obama was withdrawing troops from Afghanistan because he didn’t see the problem of Afghanistan as a military one. Even though the Taliban has been weakened by the US offensive, there are 20 other groups present in Afghanistan including the ISIS Afghan wing, it is not sure whether increasing the number of contingent troops would help in this problem.
The journalist asked Ghani, “If you can’t secure the capital, how are you going to secure the rest of the country?” to which he replied, “You tell me. Can you prevent the attack on New York? Can you prevent the attack on London?” The Afghan president has no confidence at all in his forces. The US has repeatedly blamed Pakistan for the failure in Afghanistan but the statement from the Afghan President shows that the problem lies at home.
Afghanistan lacks the military and financial capabilities to tackle the terrorist groups fighting in their country even after America poured 700 billion dollars into Afghanistan as military aid.
President Donald Trump made a tweet on New Year’s Day, accusing Pakistan of ‘lies and deceit’ and harbouring terrorists. The US accused Pakistan of taking 33 billon dollars in funds and not giving any results, while the US poured more than 700 billion dollars in Afghanistan and couldn’t even produce an illusion of peace.
Read more: Kabul jolted yet again; US strategy is still-evolving
The US is accusing Pakistan of harbouring terrorists and suspended its aid but the statement from the Afghan President is a confession that terrorists are actually residing in Afghanistan, and not Pakistan. US failed to create a strong military and economic structure in Afghanistan even after 16 years of effort. A huge number of terrorist attacks are launched in Pakistan from Afghan soil. Pakistan has eliminated terrorist hideouts from its soil in a number of operations; similar operations need to take place on Afghan soil for the stability of the region. The Afghan war has no end in sight but making Pakistan a scapegoat for the failures in Afghanistan will achieve no purpose.