President Obama announced on Tuesday, November 24th, that he would "finish the job" in Afghanistan. It is speculated that he will announce the addition of up to 35,000 more troops committed to the War. Perhaps someone should remind him that the answer to solving the problem in Afghanistan lies south of the border in Pakistan.?
The original mission in Afghanistan was laid out in the Bonn Agreement in 2001, as the UN set up a group of principals, which reaffirmed "the independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity in Afghanistan." Unfortunately, the oil hungry Bush Administration chose to abandon Afghanistan as they pursued an imaginary threat in Iraq, which had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11 or the integrity of Afghanistan! As Afghanistan was literally abandoned, Iraq would take center stage, not only taking the wealth of our nation’s ability to wage war, but the lives of our servicemen and women. We now were focused in the wrong direction against the wrong enemy when we left our NATO allies with minimal support by the U.S. Military.
Afghanistan is tribal, with little national identity. The two major ethnic groups are the Pastuns, which make up 40 percent, while the Tajiks represent nearly 20 percent of the population. There hasn’t been a successful central government in Afghanistan since 1747, under the Durrani Empire. As far as any of the participants mentioned above, there is no recognized border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. U.S. Intelligence suggests that there is no more than 100 members of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, while there may well be more than 300 in the Northern Territories of Pakistan. The greater problem is in Pakistan, as the Taliban, after having a free pass by the Pakistan government, is now in a position to meet the Pakistan Army head on and with the nuclear capabilities of Pakistan. What country poses as the greater danger?
It’s time that President Obama deliver the message to Pakistan as did Candidate Obama. It is up to Pakistan to secure the Northern Territories from the Taliban, with the help of U.S. Military Aid. One of President Obama’s topics of discussion with India’s Prime Minister Singh should be Indian assurance of support for the Pakistan government, allowing it to take their focus off Kashmir and allow it to do its job the Northern Territories. In the meantime, our mission should strictly be Afghanistan’s nation building, not our idea of what they should have. We have to recognize that the government is corrupt and will remain so. Without a national identity, any Afghan Army will be only as strong as the accord struck among all the tribes and ethnic groups. No matter how you look at it, the success of our mission in Afghanistan is umbilically connected to Pakistan.
You can read the complete article on reallypissedoff.com