StormWarning’s Counterterrorism

Throughout these six years, objective views of Afghanistan have often been belittled by those unwilling to recognize the facts.  Even an ongoing “debate” with a “NATO guy” seeing through poppy-colored glasses claiming that Afghanis were better off than ever, denied the resurgence of the Taliban and the record level drug crops.

The passage of time doesn’t diminish the litany of posts expressing lack of trust of the Pashtun tribesmen, the absolute concern about how the Taliban continued to terrorize the Afghan people living outside of Kabul, even after they were declared defunct, the overwhelming influence of the Warlords/Druglords…and most of all, a bleak outlook for Karzai’s position as President.  In tender balance hangs the stability of Afghanistan, the once (and maybe future) fertile fields in which al Qaeda’s Taliban was spawned…with the help of the Pashtun, by the way…[It was towards the end of 1994 that the Taleban emerged in the southern city of Kandahar, heart of Afghanistan's Pashtun homeland.]  But before reviewing a post history, a look at recent articles on the subject of Afghanistan and the state of affairs there is probably in order.

Is The U.S. Losing Afghanistan? - You will note below a post below from November 29, 2006.

Violence in Afghanistan is so bad that its president is offering olive branches to Taliban leaders on our most-wanted list. More alarming, Washington backs the peace talks. What gives?

U.S. commanders in Afghanistan blame Pakistan, our alleged ally bordering Afghanistan. They say the Taliban and al-Qaida are launching suicide raids from their sanctuary across the border, and there’s not much they can do about it. The U.S. military is barred from pursuing the enemy inside Pakistani territory…

…what makes Afghan President Hamid Karzai think holding peace talks directly with the Taliban will work any better?He’s made a direct offer of amnesty to Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar and jihadi warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, both of whom are wanted by Washington.So, the outlook is good?  I don’t know how any objective view could lead to a positive opinion.

Afghanistan Stalemate

Nearly six years after it began, the war in Afghanistan is a draw. The Taliban guerrillas and their al Qaeda allies can’t defeat the U.S.-led coalition in conventional battle, but the coalition doesn’t have enough troops on the ground to wage a successful counterinsurgency…

…The Taliban have been stepping up operations, not just in the south and east of the country where they remain strongest, but also in territory previously considered secure, to the north and west of Kabul. Indeed, the notion of any territory in Afghanistan being securely held by either coalition forces or the Taliban is misleading. Afghanistan is so large and the terrain so rugged that large parts of the country rarely see a regular military presence of either side. And the tribal nature of Afghan society makes the situation even more fluid…

And note that the fact that Pakistan remains unstable (maybe tomorrow I’ll try to find time to comment on Pakistan again since there’s an election), makes the situation in Afghanistan ever more difficult to manage.

Afghanistan Update: Sept. 1-30, 2007 - From the Center for Defense Information

Image Source: NATO International Security Assistance Force

General Security SituationSummary

While International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghanistan forces continue to strike at Taliban strongholds in the south, with Operation ‘Palk Wahel’ beginning on Sept. 19, suicide bombings and kidnappings continued to undermine the security situation across the country.  An emboldened Taliban struck the capital with suicide bombers twice in one week killing over 30 people, including one ISAF soldier.  As international forces battle the Taliban offensive, Afghans and foreign workers continue to contend with criminal activity disrupting relief work and development.  This month, a UN relief convoy bringing food to returning Afghan refugees was also attacked, a Bangladeshi aid worker kidnapped, and an Afghan mine clearing team seized and subsequently released — actions by various criminal elements in the country.

I still have a hard time figuring out how anyone who is being objective can see this as a positive situation in the War on Terror.  Here’s another one:

Afghanistan: Country ‘may be lost forever’

Washington, 5 Oct. (AKI/DAWN) A US congressional panel was warned on Thursday that the Bush administration’s Afghan policy had totally failed and Afghanistan was on its way to be lost forever.

Map

So now, for those of you readers who have gotten this far, we can look at a few of the past posts on Storm Blog that have expressed my doubts about Afghanistan, Karzai, the Taliban, the Pashtun etc.
War on Terror - Looking Back Before its Too Late
…Do I still believe that Karzai isn’t long for this world?  Yup!  Is it a matter of time?  I think so.   An Inside Look at Hamid Karzai’s Rising Woes discusses that in Afghanistan, peace is still an illusion.
Progress in Iraq and Afghanistan
If you look at Afghanistan, in addition to all of the other issues I’ve raised in the last week or so, you find that its poppy cultivation has skyrocketed… …Of course, the NATO guy once told me how well off the Afghanis were…but who’s looking?  So, after all is said and done, Hussein is gone (as were his WMDs — I still would like to know who has them, because I’m one who believed that they did exist — but the lights worked)…and in Afghanistan, the country has re-emerged as the World’s supplier of heroin, and the Taliban has “re-surged.” 

UPDATED: Talibanistan Regression 

Losing Afghanistan - The Taliban’s Re-Emergence

The War in Central Asia

The Rise of TalibanistanAfghanistan - Unraveling?

Afghanistan - Winning and Losing
Post Taliban Afghanistan – The New Parliament
Afghanistan: CENTCOM, NATO and Narcotics
Terrorist Resurrection
Tribal Unrest in Pashtunistan

Poppies and Afghanistan

Nothing if not consistent…comments and additional analysis welcomed.  Please.  

Center for Defense Information, druglords, Kabul, Kandahar, Karzai, Pashtun, warlords