OPINION: Trump’s War Strategy Will Not Bring Peace To Afghanistan

By ​​​​​​​Matin Royeen 26 AUGUST 2017

Six important points of the US president are pointed out and analyzed by Dr Matin Royeen (Ph.D), a Cross-Cultural and Peace Educator in the US.

On August 21, President Donald Trump revealed his new war strategy in combating terrorism in Afghanistan.  For most part, Trump’s new policy in Afghanistan is a continuation of his predecessors ’war policy with some exceptions. 

First, the conditions on the ground will guide our war strategy instead of setting time tables: 

From a military point of view, this appears to be a sound strategy.  Psychologically, this strategy provides comfort to the anguished Afghans who have been pre-occupied with this perception of when is the United States going to abandon them again as it did in 1989, after winning the cold war.  At the same time, people are worried about the continuation of war and upheaval that has devastated the country since 1978

Second, we are in Afghanistan to assist the Afghan National Security Forces win the war against the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Daesh):

In the past 16 years, the United States and our allies have been involved in fighting the insurgents in the area.  In fact, in 2010-2011, there were nearly one hundred thousand American troops with another forty thousand international forces representing 49 nations, deployed to Afghanistan.  If we could not defeat the insurgency with such a large formidable force, how can we win the war against the insurgents and terrorists with only 8,400 American troops currently dispatched in Afghanistan?

Third, Pakistan must stop harboring these terrorists and criminals who are involved in the killing of innocent civilians: 

This is an important point made by President Trump regarding the double sided policy of Pakistan towards Afghanistan.  While Pakistan played an important role in hosting millions of Afghan refugees during the Soviet intervention in 1980s, it has also been complicit in harboring terror groups and sending them to the Afghan soil in order to create instability and maintain its strategic depth in the country. The Afghans have been bemoaning about the safe haven for terrorists in Pakistan for many years.  Osama Bin Ladin, the mastermind of 9/11 attacks, was killed by our forces inside Pakistan in 2011, despite the Government of Pakistan’s repeated denials that Bin Ladin was in Pakistan.  It is about time for the United States to exert political pressure on Pakistan in order to work towards a stable Afghanistan.  After all, the security of both countries is co-dependent on mutual cooperation and respect for the sovereignty of each nation.  President Trump could have explicitly stated the consequences of continued Pakistani collusion with terror groups. - Read More

Trump's War Strategy Will Not Bring Peace To Afghanistan | TOLOnews