Afghan War May Be Lost: Experts
Taliban are back in force, MPS hear. Contradicting military chief’s optimism
Two Afghanistan experts painted a sobering picture of the conditions there yesterday, arguing support among Afghans for NATO forces is plummeting, the U.S.-driven policy of poppy eradication is wrongheaded, and the war might not be winnable in its present form.
U.S. scholar Barnett Rubin and Gordon Smith, Canada’s former ambassador to NATO, delivered their withering comments to a Commons committee only days after Canada’s top military commander, Gen. Rick Hillier, touted progress being made there.
Hillier, the chief of defence staff, this week predicted Canadian troops in southern Afghanistan will soon see a rise in attacks from the Taliban. But he insisted on using the term “surge” rather than “offensive.”
He also noted many Afghans are moving back into their homes in districts west of Kandahar following a Canadian-led NATO offensive last fall.
But Rubin, who has been to Afghanistan 29 times over more than two decades, said yesterday many Afghans are growing frustrated with the pace of Western efforts to stabilize the country.
“They’re not at all happy. Support for both the international presence and the government has plummeted in the past year or so,” he told the foreign affairs committee.
He said Afghans aren’t seeing the results of promises by the United States and NATO, which took over the mission in 2003, to increase security, establish democracy and improve the economy. “The main complaint that I hear from Afghans is … that we haven’t delivered what they think we promised.”
Rubin recently published an article in Foreign Affairs magazine warning Afghanistan “is at risk of collapsing into chaos.” In it, he blasts the U.S. for underestimating the influence of Pakistan, which he accuses of providing “safe haven” to theTaliban.
Smith, meanwhile, threw cold water on Hillier’s suggestion that Canadian troops are facing a weakened enemy.
There is evidence Al-Qa’ida-affiliated militants, who often fight alongside the Taliban, are actually gaining strength, said Smith, now executive director of the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria.
“The Al-Qa’ida problem has not gone away,” he told MPs. “It’s important that we not forget the original motivation for going to Afghanistan, and that was to deal with Al-Qa’ida.”
Smith recently released a critical report of his own, titled Canada in Afghanistan: Is it Working? He questions whether NATO can achieve its stated goals, even within 10 years. Canada has committed to maintain its military presence until 2009.
He argued NATO needs to hike its troop commitment, while using development aid more effectively and opening negotiations with theTaliban . Smith also said NATO must create a market so Afghan farmers can sell their opium for legal use in medical products like morphine.
Both Rubin and Smith suggested Canada needs to have a new debate about its role in Afghanistan. Liberal MP Keith Martin welcomed their remarks.
Leave it to the Canadians to tell the truth of what is going on!! Thank you.
The Canadian who must most pay attention to this report is Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He’s been a close supporter of Bush and Blair, and he’s continually talking about beefing up the military, especially in Afghanistan.
Come to think about, let him carry on with his head in the sand, for if he persists in this Afghan mis-adventure the Canadian voter will turf him out so fast his tiny little Conservative head will spin.
For those of you who don’t know it you can hear the CBC on the net at CBC.CA. Their Radio One is the primary news and information radio network and their programs “The World at 6″ a half hour news program and “As it Happens” which follows is a 90 minute program that does extended interviews on the stories it covers. Taken together theyu are kind of like the BBC without the British accents. 8o)))
Do you really think the British media is as indepencent as they say they are?
Shucks “independent” not indecent. sorry, my bad
It’s astonishing how everything Bush touches turns into a disaster. The only success story I can think of is the Texas Rangers, but perhaps that’s only because he had such a small (well oiled) stake in it.
I guess when you have the wrong priorities, then every thing you do will come out wrong.
The Afgnan war was lost before it began. The neocons planned that invasion early in 2001 to secure a pipeline for caspian oil. They refused Taliban offers to hand over Bin Laden previous to September 11 and then went in and carpet bombed one of the most backward counties in the world. There really was nothing to “win” and history shows that the rugged terrain and popular resistance make long term controll impossible. It was a losing venture based on delusional goals. All we’ve built there are torture camps and all we’ve achieved is animosity and shame.
Canadas’ chief of defense staff is a military version of Donald Rumsfeld who advises Canada’s military to “kill or capture” the “enemy” who he called “scumbags”. Canada’s Defense Minister, O’Connor, a retired general is completely out of touch regarding the people and culture of Afghanistan while at the same time promoting increased military operations there. He actually insisted in the Canadian Parliament that the International Red Cross would notify Canada if any Afghani prisoners who Canada, as a matter of policy, turns over to the Afghani military (and the US) are tortured when in custody. He had to be informed that the IRC does not and never has had such a policy. Canada undertook military action in Afghanistan to make amends with the Bush administration for not sending its military to Iraq and is now sinking into the quagmire being created by the military destruction of the country and its people: a mission based upon deception as to its purpose,lacking a workable plan to rebuild the country,and resulting in the destruction of Afghani lives and hopes. Once again, as in Viet Nam and in Iraq, those who have an understanding of the country are being ignored by the politicians and military who are ignorantly creating havoc and losing the hearts and minds of the people.