Six years have gone by since the ‘War bells’ rang in Afghanistan. The US led attacks on the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, otherwise christened ‘The War on Terror’, has assumed various themes at different times during this period. While the initial stages focused on up-rooting the Taliban, the strategy changed as the battle progressed.
Coalition troops maintaining their stronghold over Kabul have been hunting for targets like ‘Osama Bin laden’ and ‘Mullah Omar’ in the region. Backed by the northern alliance, the international forces have been struggling hard to edge-out jihadi fighters.
Now, as the war enters another dark year, few fundamental questions, which have been debated for sometime, will need elucidation. Has the war actually succeeded? Should the United States take this war even further? Is Afghanistan emerging as a failed state?
Sometime during the war, the coalition troops started losing men at a faster rate than before. Protests back home in these countries condemned their leaders for endorsing the American plan. To compound problems, the combined intelligence had also underestimated the Taliban strength leading to a spate of surprise attacks.
Reports of ‘Taliban regrouping’ coupled with evidences in the form of surprise strikes have made at least ‘one statement’ definite...
‘The war succeeded only in the early phases to unseat the Taliban’
Otherwise, these nations have entered the battle without knowing how to get out of there. It took these many years for the International forces to remove even ‘Mullah Dadullah’, a notorious Taliban commander. What about high-value-targets, ‘Bin Laden’ and ‘Mullah Omar’?
Programmed efforts have continued through 2007, including the recent ‘Operation Harekate Yolo’ in October. This strike aimed at driving the hostile insurgents out of the relatively peaceful north of Afghanistan. Even as opposition to continue the war mounts on the participants back home, the fight against the jihadis continues, with no signs of a ’satisfying end’ in sight. A ‘deadlock somewhere’.
‘The United States would be better off, not to drag this war even further.’
A major concern of the United Nations has been of Afghanistan becoming a ‘Failure State’. The continued Taliban regrouping, the drug production menace, emerging secret militant organizations, the Afghan Government lacking control outside Kabul and the vulnerable institutional framework have all combined to nullify any foreign efforts at reconstruction. It is widely believed that the rebel fighters have multiplied many times since the Taliban were first removed.
Need for Careful Assessment
The real milestones not yet achieved, it will be better if the coalition members assess their next move carefully. While they keep track of the Taliban movements, they also will need to anticipate the future if Afghanistan was to be left as it were now. With changes in their own local politics coming a circle, ideologies are bound to conflict on the battlefield. Britain is already looking at bringing down troops sharply. The election results in Australia too have hit a nail on United States, with the former likely to pull out of the war. The Bush regime itself is at sunset.
Can the Afghan Government withstand the arriving cyclone?
