The tensions between the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai and both his NATO allies and his neighbor Pakistan are a clear sign that the rising tide of Taleban and Al-Qaeda violence is disturbing many people. Though US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did her best to tough it out during her visit yesterday to the Afghan capital, it is obvious that all is not well. The US military, ranging up and down the remote mountainous border region with Pakistan, has not had the overwhelming impact it expected. Once again it seems, Washington has been blinded by its anti-terror agenda into ignoring the complex cultural and political subtleties of a region. The Pashtun heartland of the Taleban, like other remote areas of the country, has always jealously defended itself from any outsiders. Even Al-Qaeda terrorists fighting alongside them are suspect to many locals. Fighting is a way of life for these tribesmen. They may be defeated by superior firepower but it seems unlikely they will ever be crushed.
Now the British have moved 3000 troops into the southern Helmand province, where, according to UN narcotics investigators, twenty percent of the world’s opium is grown. Their mission is apparently to free locals from Taleban dominance, stop the drug trade and create enough security for the start of internationally financed development projects. British commanders have, however, admitted surprise at the Taleban’s strength but insist they will defend the locals and confront the rebels at all times.
Back in London, on the other hand, British resolve may not be so strong. Prime Minister Tony Blair’s ratings are plunging as more people see his slavish military support for President Bush as both wrong and based on lies. Fears of mission creep will surge if British troops begin to take heavy casualties — two were killed Monday in a firefight with the Taleban.
Meanwhile President Karzai is finding himself increasingly beleaguered. Innocent Afghans are being killed, allegedly in error, by foreign troops and there have been riots in Kabul. He has been unable to deliver to the electorate some major economic promises largely because international donors have themselves failed to deliver. Over and above the deep rivalries among warlords who are currently working together in the fragile Afghan central government, there is the largely unacknowledged presence of international mafias. They want to see Afghanistan continue to deliver its share of its immensely profitable opium production and are happy to finance and foster violence wherever they can.
Far from being liberated, many decent Afghans are now beginning to feel as if their country is once again occupied by foreign forces, Al-Qaeda as well as NATO, who are pursuing their own agendas at Afghanistan’s expense. There was widespread dismay in the capital when the Americans rejected out of hand Karzai’s desperate suggestion that perhaps villagers should be armed in order to protect themselves. NATO is supposed to be working to support the Afghan police and army but unfortunately it looks increasingly the other way round. Where then is the much-vaunted Afghan freedom and independence?
