Minor withdrawal in Afghanistan, war continues

23/06/2011| IslamWeb

US president Barack Obama announced Wednesday night from the White House his plan to withdraw 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year and all of the 33,000 'surge' forces by the end of next summer. By that time almost 70,000 troops will remain in the war torn country, twice the amount as when Obama assumed office. By 2014, he said, 'our transition to a support role in Afghanistan will be complete'.

The decision comes after an extended debate within the administration over the scale and pace of the withdrawal. But the confines of the debate in Washington are too narrow to include a long-term solution to the ten-year war.

Pressure from both political parties also put increased weight on the decision. Republicans have been voicing concerns about the ongoing war effort, while growing numbers of Democrats have been pressing Obama for a full drawdown of troops.

But while these quibbles over the pace of partial withdrawals consume the headlines, concerns are rising over a more permanent military presence in Afghanistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said publicly that his talks with U.S. officials have included the possibility of troops being kept there past 2014, the year set ostensibly for a full withdrawal of all foreign occupying forces. Secret deliberations have reportedly included a long-term 'security' agreement in which the U.S. military would remain for decades to come.

The violence in the ravaged country has been increasing, with last month being the deadliest month for civilians since 2007 and other such records being broken all the time. The U.S. relationship with President Karzai has been tense as he has offered ‘last warnings’ to NATO about halting its reckless airstrikes which often kill high numbers of innocents.

A recently released congressional investigation concluded that U.S. 'nation-building efforts' in Afghanistan fuel corruption and distort local economies, undermining U.S. aims to 'stabilize' the country. American-trained and funded Afghan militias have reportedly terrorized the local civilian populations, in some cases “beating, robbing and even killing with impunity.”

In addition to these troubling consequences of U.S. policies in Afghanistan, problems with the overall strategy arise as well.

PHOTO CAPTION

US president Barack Obama

Agencies