Treaty Proposal Could Save Afghanistan and Give the U.S. a Face-saving Withdrawal - Wahab Raofi

We have a saying in Afghanistan which translates something like this: An army of 200 good fighting men is better than an army of 100,000 men unwilling to fight. Today, this old truism may hold the key to Afghanistan’s very survival, as well as a face-saving withdrawal for the United States and NATO forces.

As an interpreter for the U.S. Army and NATO during the last eight years in Afghanistan, I recognize that the Afghan government, despite receiving billions of dollars in U.S. assistance, is now a failed state. The bulk of Afghanistan’s resources are poured into its massive defense and security force, yet insurgents still control of third of the countryside. Afghanistan pushes for still more military assistance and air power, but is that really a path to peace in Afghanistan?

It is not. Afghanistan cannot afford an army the size of its current ANDSF. In his book “The Fragmentation of Afghanistan,” Barnett Rubin noted that the country does not generate enough revenue even to pay for its civil servants, and the lack of sufficient funds is causing the government to collapse. And as a consequence, the weakened government invites foreign interference.

Afghanistan has been invaded and occupied countless times throughout history, including incursions by India, Alexander the Great, the Caliphate, Genghis Khan, Timur, the Mughal Empire, various Persian empires, the British Empire, the Sikh Empire and the Soviet Union. NATO coalition forces have been in Afghanistan since 2001.

Pakistan and India currently use Afghanistan as a pawn in their cold war against each other. - Read More

Treaty Proposal Could Save Afghanistan and Give the U.S. a Face-saving Withdrawal