Preface
My previous, optimistic blog post about Afghanistan is here.
Source
The Wall Street Journal on its Opinion pages published a piece by Davood Moradian on 6/26/2013 titled “Taliban Guns Send a Message About Obama’s Peace Process” (Subscribers only).
Summary
Excerpts from the above mentioned article (Emphasis added) and comments:
1. “Last week, US officials celebrated what they regarded as a diplomatic breakthrough. They had persuaded the Taliban to open a political office in Doha, Qatar … The Taliban had immediately begun … declaring the office as an outpost of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. … insulting Afghan sovereignty, also sent a degrading message to the millions who have been the victims of Taliban brutality. The Taliban are despised by the vast majority of the Afghan people, …” [Clearly, the Taliban have not given up on usurping the country again. What does the US President not understand when it comes to the Taliban and the Afghan people?]
2. “On Monday [6/24/2013], the Taliban attacked the presidential compound in Kabul. President Karzai announced that he would not join peace negotiations with killers who had been so legitimized by the US.”
3. “But despair and confusion cannot bring enduring peace, or even an honorable exit. Now with the U.S. endorsement of the Taliban office in Doha, the credibility and authority of the Afghan state has been undermined.” [After Vietnam Afghanistan?]
4. “American eagerness to flee Afghanistan has left its civil society feeling betrayed.” [Well said! President Obama is an appeaser and fool!]
5. “The U.S. gave the Taliban a prime propaganda victory and came away with nothing in exchange. The moment was more akin to appeasement than a peace process.” [Ouch, that sounds like a slap in the face!]
6. “Last May, the U.S. and Afghanistan signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement that was meant to cement mutual respect and shared interests.” [Could this Afghan author be right? Does the US not treat Afghanistan as a partner?]
7. “This year, the U.S. was hoping to secure a Bilateral Security Agreement defining the long-term military partnership between the two countries, … The … agreement has now been endangered by the Obama administration’s engagement with the Taliban.” [President Obama is an amateur/dilettante who negotiates with anyone unconditionally.]
8. “Why has the U.S. refused to designate the Taliban as a terrorist organization since 1994?” [Hhm! Well the US State Department does indeed not list the Afghan Taliban as a terrorist organization, but the “Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan” is listed since 9/1/2010, but supposedly/reportedly not affiliated with former group. Thus, why indeed are the Afghan Taliban not designated?]
9. “Westerners engaged in peace efforts are often hampered by a deficient understanding of Afghanistan. … Such ignorance is taken full advantage of by skilled players who have mastered the game of manipulating Westerners.” [Either this is just a rhetorical point about the stupid Westerners or there could be some truth to it. I tend to agree with the author. Afghanistan along the Silk Road has a very long and proud history. The British Empire failed were beaten in the first Anglo-Afghan war, the Soviet military had to go home with bloody noses.]
10. “Peace is not a process to be determined and completed by the sort of deadlines and benchmarks that the Obama administration seems to prefer. Knowledge, skill, vision and perseverance are required.” [To fight wars or to achieve peace based on short-term deadlines or numerical benchmarks is indeed absurd. Only technocrats can up with something like that.]
11. “President Karzai’s administration is exhausted. It does not have the necessary political and institutional energy to spend on the peace process in the 10 months remaining before the election of a new president.” [This admission comes from former senior member of President Karzai’s office. Looks like the Obama Team did not recognize this situation or ignored it.]
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