"Certain
that they'll quickly be able to overthrow the Afghan government if NATO-led
forces are sent home too soon, the Taliban now feel that they're close to
victory."
Commander of U.S. and NATO in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal,
is in hot water, after proving insubordinate to his commander-in-chief in a
Rolling Stone Magazine interview.
On Sunday [June 20], the
Obama Administration reaffirmed its intention to withdraw U.S. troops from
Afghanistan. President Obama first announced these plans in late 2009, when he announced
his new strategy for Afghanistan. Since then there has been lots of talk on the
issue, both in and out of this country.
Some experts hold that setting
a timeframe is too constraining and won’t offer any practical help. At the same
time, there are many who doubt victory for the U.S. and its allies is possible
and want all foreign forces withdrawn at once to avoid their further deaths. But
the most accurate and accepted idea is to boost the capacity of the Afghan
National Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police (ANP) so
that they're able to take over security responsibilities, and that a U.S. drawdown
mustn't take place until and unless this objective is achieved.
This is no easy task. Only a
miracle would make it possible within just a year. After almost nine years of
counterterrorism, the forces complain of having inadequate weapons and
equipment. Weapons already in Afghan Army hands are out of date and malfunction.
For instance, while fighting the terrorists on the day of the Afghan Peace
Jirga in Kabul last month, the weapons of some police stopped working. So there
are a number of question marks about improving the capabilities of the Security
Forces to defend Afghanistan on their own by July 2011.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Aside from the above issue, the
plan to withdraw U.S. forces seems to have had a negative impact in Afghanistan's
security. Certain that they'll quickly be able to overthrow the Afghan
government if NATO-led forces are sent home too soon, the Taliban now feel that
they're close to victory. The withdrawal plan has also created ambiguity in the
minds of Afghans who don't want to see a return of the Taliban. Uncertainty about
the sustainability of Afghanistan's future has grown, having a deep economic, social
and political impact.
