Back on Track
In an interview with John Springer over the issue of new terrorist threats and the resurgence of al-Queda, Senator Barack Obama said in part:
“Obviously, we’ve made some progress since 9/11. But if you look at what’s happening in Afghanistan now, you are seeing the Taliban resurgent, you are seeing al-Qaida strengthen itself,” Obama said. “We have not followed through on the good starts we made in Afghanistan, partly because we took so many resources out and put them in Iraq. I think it is very important for us to begin a planned redeployment from Iraq, including targeting Afghanistan.”
He’s right. Any man with a half a brain can see that Iraq is only making us more vulnerable to further terrorist attacks. Obama is right when he says we need to withdrawal now. Furthermore, we need to shift our attention where the real threat lies, that is in Afghanistan — a currently abandoned endeavor — and focus on putting some real, hardcore pressure on Musharraf to rid the Pakistani border of Taliban remnants and al-Queda training camps. Let’s secure more than Kabul (if one even considers that secure) by devoting our undivided attention to assisting an area of real concern. One of Bush’s casus bellis for intervention was to eradicate terrorist training camps and nations which harbor terrorist cells. Talk about a double standard setter and a hypocrite. How about we stop utilizing Musharraf as an objective means to better relations in the area and actually gardener the multilateral support we have there?
Or is it too late for that? Has the global support been completely wasted on a futile and selfish warmonger? Is the America psyche battered and our moral diminished? Quite possible so. We need someone energetic, someone idealistic but working within the framework of a pragmatic nation.
I believe hope to never be lost, eh?
Thoughts?
We do have to be careful about pushing Musharraf too hard, though. The Pakistani people are very anti-US and if their leader sides with us too much then he could be thrown out of power and we could be stuck with a much harder-core dictator in Pakistan.
Musharraf is, by the way, an example of one of the numerous dictators that we know and love. Nobody wants to “liberate the Pakistani people” by using some sort of preemptive, democracy-spreading war.
One big problem that we are facing in Afghanistan, is that it is not even close to a modern nation. It a nation of tribal groups, which makes it harder to unite. These groups are often times out for their own selfish endeavours and it is almost impossible to create a central government in Kabul that will be able to control the entire nation. We are finding in Afghanistan that our attempts at democracy have experienced some hard times. I hope that one day these tribal groups may be able to work together for the good of the nation as a whole, and give greater validity to the central government, and therefore the nation as a whole.
I agree with you, David, about Musharraf. He is just another example of what we are fighting in other places. It is a shame and something that I am very upset with in terms of our foreign policy.
It seems to me that in Afghanistan and Pakistan lies the root of the problems we wish to address but aren’t addressing them. On the Afghani and Pakistani borders lie al-Queda terrorist cells operating under a Pakistani benefactor, along with a plethora of al-Queda training camps and the remnants of the Taliban government. Problem? Yes.
You are all too right my friend. It is the root of our problems, but it is tough to face this problem since the Pakistani government (aka military dictatorship) is benefiting some from the terrorist cells living in western Pakistan. David presented a valid and true paradox, that we must use our relationship to pressure Musharraf to do more about ridding the presence of Al Qaeda and the Taliban, but not do so to the point where his people overthrow him and prop up an even worse leader. We are facing some difficult decisions over there because we need to put an end to this, but we can also not afford to create even more resentment in that region. We need to make sure that we do eliminate the Al Qaeda and Taliban presence in Eastern Afghanistan though. That is definitely something that we can do immediately.