Zara Ali |
If we are looking for the unabashed bottom line of the latest version of the U.S. strategy on Afghanistan, or shall we say an outline of the next episode of the New World Order drama, in its most succinct form, the following words of Trump’s elaborate discourse delivered on August 21, 2017 would suffice: “Our troops will fight to win.”
Not to mention the cost of spreading this war across the border into Pakistan as overtly as both Trump and Nicholson have alluded to could bear serious consequences for US
“We will fight to win. From now on, victory will have a clear definition: attacking our enemies, obliterating ISIS, crushing al Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over Afghanistan, and stopping mass terror attacks against America before they emerge… Conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables, will guide our strategy from now on.”
For anyone, who has honestly witnessed the unfolding of events in the region (Pakistan & Afghanistan) especially since September 2001, and has also followed the pattern of U.S. intervention across the Middle East over the same time period, it is not difficult to note these words are little else than over-used rhetoric of almost 16 years. It was just that this time Trump took the turn to deliver the message of the U.S. Deep State to the intended recipients, hence the choice of words reflected Trump’s infamous lack of diplomatic etiquette and his overall lack of insight especially so in reference to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Read more: Trump & Modi’s Afghan deal: Stupid and bound to fail
One cannot but wonder if Trump was at all aware that this is exactly what the U.S. strategy has been since 9/11 in particular, and not just in Afghanistan, rather anywhere and everywhere, wherever the U.S. Deep State has deemed it advantageous to spread its hegemonic tentacles for the greater benefit of the U.S. Military-Industrial complex.
Trump would have not announced to walk the same path U.S. has been walking since 9/11 with great vigour, rather Trump would have held his ground and not taken a U-turn on this pre-election stance on the matter
One of the very few aspects of the recently declared strategy that comprises of ‘something new’ is perhaps the more dogmatic and overt threat given to Pakistan which implies the U.S. Deep State, in fact, wishes to expand their war into Pakistan far more explicitly than simply using infiltrates of the likes of Raymond Davis to oversee covert targeted operations within Pakistan. After 16 years of pouring billions of dollars into what has been portrayed as an ongoing attempt to root out the ‘self-architected’ threat of terrorism in the world, expansion of this war into Pakistan is most probably meant to serve as an obvious face-saving measure for the U.S.
That is one big reason why Pakistan has been continuously portrayed as the culprit behind the unspoken failure of U.S. to win the war in Afghanistan. In essence, however, and as is always the case, this false flag provides the U.S. Military Industrial Complex with an apparently legitimate pretext to realize their dream of carrying out Balkanization of Pakistan leading to subsequent control of its vast untapped reserves of oil and natural gas as well as deep water ports.
The province of Baluchistan, wherein 19 trillion out of an estimated total of 25 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves are located, has therefore been the main target of a nationalist movement abetted heavily by the Indian and British Intelligence as well as the CIA, for decades. Also, politically speaking, the said province has been deliberately mismanaged by puppet governments of Pakistan in order to help create circumstances that would ultimately lead to achieving the goal of separation of Baluchistan from the Federation.
Read more: Washington wants decisive action from Pakistan
Deep State forces in making the swamp more filthy. Also, General John. W. Nicholson needs to step out of the highly arrogant mind-set that seems to be common among the U.S.
CIA and Mossad support for Baluch nationalists/separatists in Iran and Afghanistan have also been reported in recent times and understandably so. The combined feeling and exploitation of the Baluch nationalist sentiment across borders in this region is a clear sign that the U.S. Deep State has in fact been planning and working towards the creation of ‘Greater Baluchistan’ for long so as to be able to develop and sustain its hegemony over regional resources as well as acquire a strategic upper hand over China and Russia by accessing and controlling deep water ports in the Indian Ocean and Arabian sea via Baluchistan.
Parallel to the effort to destabilize Baluchistan, an effort to play on the nationalist Pakhtun sentiment in the North Western Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan, was observed as an on-going process well into the 1970s. However, after the end of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and particularly since 9/11, the false flag employed to achieve the goal of destabilization in this region has been Pakistan’s alleged support for Taliban.
The Americans, British and the Indians have blatantly accused Pakistan of harbouring ‘terrorist safe havens’ and have blamed Pakistan for not doing enough whereas, in fact, it is CIA, that has continued to employ and support mercenaries to destabilize the region in particular Pakistan via countless terrorist activities since 2001; terrorist activities of these very mercenaries inside Afghanistan have also been employed to create a false pretext for continued presence of the allied forces in Afghanistan.
Read more: Pakistan all-set to pull the plug on the US
To the contrary they have in essence announced to sabotage any such effort towards peace in the region, hence the developing nexus of the U.S. Deep State and the Hindu extremist Modi government in India
Now that we have more transparently seen in case of Syria, then we could in Afghanistan, as to how the U.S. Intelligence agencies tend to create a quagmire of militant and non-militant proxy groups in order to misguide and mislead the general public opinion, it is easier to fathom that a similar strategy had been put in use in Afghanistan, since before not after 9/11, hence the various factions of Taliban and Al-Qaeda and the more recently planted ISIS alias Daesh that have become a ground reality in the region.
However, this does not imply real and legitimate resistance to the presence of allied forces in Afghanistan does not exist. Historically speaking, the Pakhtun people have always resisted subjugation to any outside rule. The Pakhtun tribes in Afghanistan as well as in the FATA region of Pakistan that borders with Afghanistan could not be brought even under the dominion of the great British Empire. Hence the Haqqani and other like-minded Pakhtun have targeted the allied forces in Afghanistan simply because they believe their homeland has been unjustly invaded and occupied.
These elements are not aligned with the objectives of the CIA mercenaries and must not be mistaken to carry the same dark agenda regardless of whether or not one agrees with the legitimacy of their resistance. Perhaps it is these very elements that would be willing to play a vital role in trying to settle through negotiation the terrible upheaval that has been created in the region.
Read more: “Pakistan will not be bullied” – Lt. Gen. Tariq Khan
Let us backtrack in history a little for the sake of highlighting certain contextual details:
The U.S. presence in Afghanistan besides other ulterior motives was therefore also intended to secure both the cultivation and the trade of opium that in part feeds the covert and overt wars U.S.
CIA as always did not know what to do with the highly trained and well-armed ‘Freedom Fighters’ of Afghanistan after they had been used to drive out the Soviets in 1988-89. These ‘Freedom Fighters’ had been trained and facilitated in their war against the Soviets by the American and Pakistani Intelligence agencies, not to mention Saudi Arabia that poured in the much-needed financing. Various factions of these ‘Freedom Fighters’, the many ethnic tribes and the many War Lords of Afghanistan, fell victim to internal division in the vacuum that had naturally formed after the Soviet invasion ended.
This was further fueled by outside influence from many an international stake holders namely Iran and Saudi Arabia who sided with the Shiite and the Sunni religious entities in Afghanistan respectively. The U.S. might not have overtly participated in the aftermath of the end of Soviet occupation in Afghanistan but they did allow their long term ally i.e. Saudi Arabia do the dirty job of creating an operational environment very similar to what we have more recently seen in Syria: Fertile soil that would allow the U.S. to create and employ many false flags in the name of War on Terror for a very long time to come.
Pakistan had since the early 1970s i.e. before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, deemed it in the national interest to undermine the nationalist Pakhtun sentiment in Afghanistan in order to minimize the threat of ‘Greater Pakhtunistan’ which could have cost Pakistan its North Western Frontier Province.
This was further fueled by outside influence from many an international stake holders namely Iran and Saudi Arabia who sided with the Shiite and the Sunni religious entities in Afghanistan respectively
Instead, it was thought focusing on the religious sentiment as opposed to the nationalist sentiment will eliminate the threat of Greater Pakhtunistan, help establish an Islamabad-friendly government in Kabul, and above all undermine India’s negative influence in the region, which undoubtedly had been a very unfavourable ground reality since long before the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Hence, unfortunately, Pakistan seemed to have made a grave mistake by taking sides with the Saudis in extending support to the Taliban movement in Afghanistan prior to the 9/11 saga.
Read more: How should Pakistan respond to Trump’s Afghan policy?
Nonetheless, accusing Pakistan of continued support to Taliban even after 16 years, although the ground reality has changed drastically over time, is so naïve that it, in fact, betrays the truth hidden behind it. Having suffered a fiscal loss of $118 billion up until 2016, being writhed by terror attacks all over the country since 2001, and having sacrificed a great number of both civilian and military lives, Pakistan is still being recklessly held responsible for providing safe havens to terrorists that apparently threaten the U.S. and the Western world, simply because the U.S. Deep State is not yet done with its plans for the New World Order; they have not yet completed the Balkanization of Pakistan that was planned for 2015 by Pentagon.
These elements are not aligned with the objectives of the CIA mercenaries and must not be mistaken to carry the same dark agenda regardless of whether or not one agrees with the legitimacy of their resistance
Also, it is worth remembering that one of the most crucial factors behind the continued effort at destabilization of Pakistan’s North Western Province as well as the direct U.S. invasion of Afghanistan post 9/11 has been the Opium Trade. Production of opium had dwindled to almost nothing causing the world heroin market to collapse by the end of the last century because Taliban outlawed cultivation of opium whereas in 1995 Afghanistan had ranked as the #1 producer of opium and heroin.
The U.S. presence in Afghanistan besides other ulterior motives was therefore also intended to secure both the cultivation and the trade of opium that in part feeds the covert and overt wars U.S. Deep State is fighting around the globe. Given this awfully complex picture, U.S. could have avoided further expansion of the war on terror and indicated a genuine desire to reach a solution with the directly involved front-line elements in the region by supporting the combined effort of Russia, China, and Pakistan in this regard.
Read more: Pakistan suspends talks with the US amid mounting tensions
To the contrary they have in essence announced to sabotage any such effort towards peace in the region, hence the developing nexus of the U.S. Deep State and the Hindu extremist Modi government in India. It must also be pointed out that U.S. has in fact effectively sabotaged any effort directed at reaching a resolution through talks with the warring elements in Afghanistan many times in the past years by conducting covert operations against the very elements it has apparently sought to bring to the table to negotiate.
The Pakhtun tribes in Afghanistan as well as in the FATA region of Pakistan that borders with Afghanistan could not be brought even under the dominion of the great British Empire
The reaction that has been observed coming from China and Russia, not to mention the Pakistani Military Chief, to Trump’s less than the thoughtful bashing of Pakistan, is highly reflective of the major change that has been taking place in this part of the world. Had U.S. sincerely sought out peace, Trump would not have announced to walk the same path U.S. has been walking since 9/11 with great vigor, rather Trump would have held his ground and not taken a U-turn on this pre-election stance on the matter.
Contrary to his intention to ‘drain the swamp’, Trump has in fact joined hands with the U.S. Deep State forces in making the swamp more filthy. Also, General John. W. Nicholson needs to step out of the highly arrogant mindset that seems to be common among the U.S. Deep State war mongers and remember Afghanistan has been the graveyard of many an empire, historically speaking, and to believe this land would treat the Americans any differently is nothing but a fallacy. Not to mention the cost of spreading this war across the border into Pakistan as overtly as both Trump and Nicholson have alluded to could bear serious consequences for U.S.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy.