U.S. Marines on security patrol in Helmand
Province last year. Are allied
plans to withdraw an abrogation of
responsibility based on a pipe dream?
Die Welt, Germany
Keep on Dreaming of 'Peaceful Taliban'
"Specifying 2014 as the date
by which Afghanistan will take over responsibility for its own security was
first and foremost an effort to mollify a Western public that is increasingly
tired of the war. It has little to do with a realistic assessment of the
possibility of a rapid peace for the Hindu Kush."
By Richard Herzinger
Translated By Carol Goetzky
July 21, 2010
Germany
- Die Welt - Original Article (German)
The Afghanistan conference in
Kabul has decided - not least based on the urging of Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle - to
transfer responsibility for the security of that country to the Afghan
government by 2014. Although this isn't a definitive date for a complete
withdrawal of NATO troops, to the Taliban, the timetable can send only one
signal: the West wants to get out as quickly as possible.
Specifying 2014 as the date by which Afghanistan will take over
responsibility for its own security was first and foremost an effort to mollify
a Western public that is increasingly tired of the war. It has little to do
with a realistic assessment of the possibility of a rapid peace for the Hindu
Kush. Indeed, the demand
made by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, that the Afghan leadership
take "concrete steps" to fight corruption and the drug trade sounds
like little more than empty words given the dubious character of the Karzai
government.
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Furthermore, Westerwelle’s proposal to reintegrate Taliban
fighters into society as a "prerequisite for stability and a return to
lasting peace” sounds even more like wishful thinking. For the Taliban, there is little motivation to lay
down their weapons and turn themselves into constructive partners for a peace
as envisioned by the West. On the contrary, now more than ever they see victory
- both ideologically and militarily - as being increasingly within their
grasp."
How much setting a date for withdrawal
inspires Islamist extremists is something Westerwelle and his NATO colleagues
could have learned from the Iraq experience. After many terrible years, Iraq
was finally on the road to a noticeable stabilization until last year, President
Obama announced 2011 as the date for a U.S. withdrawal. Since then, the Iraqi
government has missed every opportunity to move the country forward. Old
divisions between religious and ethnic groups have broken out anew, and while
the U.S. still clings to its plan for withdrawal, a new bloody wave of terrorist
attacks is spreading across the country. In the end, extremists have even deployed
the mentally handicapped as human bombs. This latest emergence of murderous perversion
should make clear to all what will be left in Afghanistan should the West
decide to let itself off the hook too soon.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Der Spiegel, Germany: NATO Diplomats Tune Out
Bad News in Afghanistan
The Independent, U.K.: 'Secret Blueprint' Calls for
Total Brit Pullout By 2014
The Frontier Post, Pakistan: Hillary a 'Bigger Liar' than Condoleezza
Pak Tribune, Pakistan: Afghan Wealth: 'The Devil Sends in the Cooks'
Outlook Afghanistan, Afghanistan: Afghanistan Hurt By Talk of U.S. Withdrawal
The Frontier Post, Pakistan: Facing Defeat, U.S. 'Lies' About Pakistan's ISI
Debka File, Israel: Pakistan-Backed Taliban Victory Near in Afghanistan
The Nation, Pakistan: Activity of Americans in Our Cities 'Must Be Restricted'
The Nation, Pakistan: U.S. Plans to Use al-Qaeda as Excuse to Seize Our Nukes
The Nation, Pakistan: Rebuff America on Air Traveler Data
