The blood spilt daily means Afghanistan is rarely out of the headlines. Fresh attacks, presumed to be by Taliban militants, in Kabul and Peshawar, only increase the pressure on the US and Nato to settle on a new strategy. The proposed options range from a troop surge of 45,000, to a cut and run policy, with numerous prescriptions in between. But there is an alternative approach. It calls for replacement of western forces with an international Muslim peacekeeping force under UN control, a focus on training and equipping the Afghan army and police, a new political setup through an intra-Afghan dialogue, and seeking a regional understanding involving Afghanistan and its neighbours as well as other regional and world powers.
Western forces’ foremost problem in Afghanistan - and the reason why a troop surge is untenable - is that they have become part of the problem, so cannot be part of a solution. General Stanley McChrystal’s efforts to change the behaviour of those forces, and their image among Afghans, are commendable. However, as facts on the ground show, it is almost impossible to avoid civilian casualties and rein in soldiers during such fraught operations. Even if troops’ behaviour was to change, however, it would remove only one element of the Afghans’ resentment and would not change their overarching perception. How can he erase Afghans’ historical memory of foreign invasions? How can McChrystal counter the Taliban propaganda that the western “infidel” troops are in Afghanistan because of their animosity to Islam? How can he put an end to conspiracy theories prevalent among non-Taliban Afghans that the US and its allies have let Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar go free and are secretly supporting the Taliban to provide an excuse to stay in the region?
http://newageislam.com/a-way-out-of-the-afghan-quagmire/islam,terrorism-and-jihad/d/2052
