Afghanistan Defies Obama

I hope the American President Barack Obama will not get entangled in the Afghan quagmire, and that his already decreasing popularity will not decrease any more. Indeed, the recurring defeats of NATO forces in Afghanistan will not only harm Obama. The devastating repercussions could also span to the Asian and African Islamic states. This might be considered as victory for the “bats” of darkness, bigotry and trading on Islam.

After Taliban gunmen inflicted heavy losses on NATO forces in August, Obama decided to send 21,000 soldiers to support the 55,000 strong American forces stationed in Afghanistan. However, the haphazard American raids on Taliban always claim dozens of innocent civilians. This made NATO forces gain the enmity of a lot of Afghan people who would join Taliban ranks just to get rid of their occupant.

Still, Washington commits more faults in Afghanistan. Now, it is clear that it helped its agent, Karzai, tamper with the ballot boxes, forge the voters’ will and seal secret deals with the Taliban.

I, for one, thought Obama was going to approve a new policy based on his neutral views, diverse culture and respect for people. Yet, the military solution remains the one and only way out in the Afghan scene to crush the Taliban. What is more, Washington did not even prepare a political and cultural program to warn Afghanis about the dangers of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, or of their false allegations.

Perhaps sending additional American troops to join NATO forces will be a momentous step in facing the gangs of the Taliban. However, killing hundreds or even thousands of Taliban will not annihilate their evils or the poisonous thoughts they sowed in Afghanistan’s soil.

In fact, before taking one more step or making any decision, Obama needed to ask himself a few questions:

If the past eight years proved that Washington’s man, Hamid Karzai, is an untrustworthy and irresponsible leader, why was he allowed to forge the elections and win another term?

Did Afghanistan’s GDP increase since the invasion in 2001? Did the Afghan people benefit from this increase, or was it pumped into the pockets of Karzai and his corrupted entourage?

How many schools were built during the invasion to teach the sons and daughters of Afghanistan?

And how many factories were erected to employ those who had been working in the Taliban’s opium farms to escape starvation and poverty?

These questions need to be answered if Obama is to avoid the Afghan quagmire and the fate of his predecessor, George W. Bush.