Afghan two-step before 2011 withdraw

Amid the political spin of the Afghan surge, there was no mention of the Bush Administration's successful military surge in Iraq, which Senator Obama opposed.

Drugs. While Afghanistan's major export is tragically narcotics, a current UN report “Addiction, Crime and Insurgency; The Transnational threat of Afghan Opium,” presents a somber case that Afghanistan produces 90 percent of global opium. Between 2005-2008, Taliban reaped a windfall profit of between US$450 and US$600 million in taxing narcotics.

Equally Taliban and Al Qaida groups have a lions share of the US$1 billion opium market in Pakistan porous frontier regions. Thinking ahead, do we woo “moderate” Taliban militants from the fight only to see them go into the far more lucrative drug business? Pakistan is THE major problem; the mountainous land bordering Afghan harbors the very rats nest of terrorists we have long been seeking.

The AFPAK strategy Obama spoke of earlier in the year faces its root challenge here; namely the problem of

Taliban violence and terrorism spilling over the border into and destabilizing nuclear-armed Pakistan.

As to reaction from NATO allies — Britain's conservative Daily Telegraph thundered, “Barack Obama has bowed to the pressure of domestic political realities and unveiled not a victory strategy, but an exit strategy.” Germany's left-leaning Der Spiegel stated sarcastically, “Never before has a speech by President Barack Obama felt as false as his Tuesday address announcing America's new strategy for Afghanistan. It seemed like a campaign speech — and left both dreamers and realists feeling distraught.” It added, “Obama's magic no longer works.”

In “struggling against violent extremism” and calling on the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces to carry a renewed fight to the Taliban and Al Qaida terrorists in the rugged mountains in Afghanistan, Obama did not even use the word Victory.

The ghosts of the long gray line silently listening at West Point were likely not pleased.

John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. jjmcolumn@att.net

1|2

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email