Afghan Ordeal

The leaked documents confirm Pakistan’s double game and the worrisome course of the war.

The leak of several thousand Pentagon documents about the war in Afghanistan means a new misfortune for Barack Obama’s strategy in that country. Not because the documents contain unexpected revelations, but because they confirm what was much more than a suspicion: Pakistan’s ambiguous role in the fight against the Taliban. Even though the divulged material mostly refers to events that occurred under the Bush administration, its contents show the weakest flanks of Obama’s military strategy, which bets on major involvement of Pakistan. However, as the documents confirm, that doesn’t mean the entire Pakistani state apparatus is in favor of strengthening this alliance. Sectors of the military and the intelligence services arrange their own strategies, based on a difficult equilibrium between Washington and the Taliban. If the authenticity of these very compromising testimonies is confirmed, instead of equilibrium, it would be necessary to talk about complicity.

The Taliban learned from their confrontation with the Soviet Union that an insurgent group can be victorious by simply not losing the war, while a regular military is obligated to win it in order to not concede defeat. This is where Pakistan plays a determining role in not prolonging the situation of permanent boards that finance the Taliban and proportionately weaken the United States. A country that doubted the viability and direction of the mission in Afghanistan has found, in these leaked documents, an additional argument to reaffirm its skepticism. However, past mistakes should not serve as excuses for an improvised abandonment without at least trying to mitigate the consequences.

In addition, the documents about Afghanistan leaked by the web page Wikileaks confirm the occurrence of more civilian casualties than have been acknowledged by American forces. Apart from the responsibilities that would have to be met, and despite the fact that no one appears ready to ask for explanations from an ally, the figures show that “winning the hearts” of the Afghans is a useless effort for a military during a war. Obama signaled next year as the deadline to begin withdrawal. Barring unforeseen events, this leak will not alter those plans. But the situation demonstrates the ordeal that must be endured.