America Not Ending Afghanistan War in Responsible Manner

President Obama has said that U.S. forces have taken out the important members of al-Qaida leadership from Afghanistan and Pakistan, and brought them to their logical end. Osama bin Laden is dead. The U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will end within the next three months. The U.S. war in Afghanistan will be concluded in a responsible manner.

The U.S. had recalled its troops from Iraq, also, on completion of its mission. Now that Islamic State activities have started over there, Obama has said that the Islamic State will become a threat if actions are not taken against it. The fear has been expressed in some circles that NATO operations in Afghanistan may be affected on account of the proposed U.S. military undertaking. Responding to this, Deputy Spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State Marie Harf said that the focus on the Islamic State will not lead to increased terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She said that some resources were transferred to Syria and Iraq for dealing with Islamic State militants; however, the U.S. has sufficient resources and, undoubtedly, can do several things at any one time.

That the U.S. has enormous resources is beyond question, but the opening of many fronts can also cause them to get scattered, which would benefit the enemy. Nor can the U.S. assume that its enemy has been so weakened by now that it is helpless. The U.S. Department of State said that, other than al-Zawahiri, all the members of al-Qaida have been pushed far from the battlefield. However, how can the U.S. consider itself secure while Zawahiri is still around?

Although America has weakened al-Qaida, terrorism has made Pakistan far more insecure after 9/11. The U.S. will leave Afghanistan within the next two or three months, but Pakistan will continue to be targeted by terrorists from within Afghanistan. Undoubtedly, it will also respond to these attacks. The region will become even more unstable than it is today.

With regret, it has to be said that the U.S. is not winding down its war in Afghanistan in a responsible manner. Before leaving, the U.S. needs to ensure future peace for Pakistan. This requires that the U.S. eliminate Maulvi Fazlullah and his supporters, who are involved in attacks on Pakistan, with the backing of the Afghan government, or hand them over to Pakistan. The Afghan government also needs to be chastised for giving refuge to terrorists.