Trump Administration’s New Military Strategy for Afghanistan

Sending more than 3,000 additional soldiers to Afghanistan is under consideration as part of the new military strategy for Afghanistan formulated by the Trump administration. At this time, 8,400 U.S. troops are present in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan has said that Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua met with Afghanistan’s vice foreign minister, Nasir Andisha, currently on a visit to Islamabad. Promotion of cooperation between the two countries in different areas, as well as the establishment of lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan, were discussed in the meeting. Both leaders were in agreement on this point that terrorism is the common enemy of both Pakistan and Afghanistan and their people.

What the Trump administration calls its Afghan military strategy is actually India’s line. The current administration is very much under India’s influence, which is evident in the deep similarity in the reactions of India and the U.S. to terrorism events. Indian influence over American policies can also be seen here in the fact that the U.S. has declared the well-known freedom-loving organization, Hizbul Mujahideen, along with its leader Syed Salahuddin, to be a terrorist organization, at India’s request. As long as the Trump administration fails to base its strategy on objective research of the region, Afghanistan and Pakistan cannot be rid of terrorism.

In consideration of its position as the world’s lone superpower, America’s highest priority should be the establishment of peace in the world. But its biased policies that are not based on reality have created difficulties for Palestinians and Kashmiris fighting for their freedom, and for Pakistan, engaged in fighting against terrorism.

Following the destruction of the twin towers, America’s craving for revenge has resulted in subjecting a large part of the world’s population to the menace of terrorism. Pakistan had no connection to the destruction of the twin towers. There was no Pakistani or Afghan among those who drove the plane into the twin towers. Yet the U.S. destroyed and ruined Afghanistan. The terrorism that was created as a result claimed more than 60,000 lives in Pakistan. The loss to the country’s economy exceeded $1 billion.

The only way to be free of America’s destructive policies is for Pakistan and Afghanistan to develop a joint strategy against their common enemy, terrorism, without the influence of any third country. During the time of Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s perverse attitude toward Pakistan served to promote terrorism. The initial attitude of Ashraf Ghani raised the hope that this policy would change. But, unfortunately, that did not prove to be the case. The only solution for overcoming the difficult situation being faced by Afghanistan and Pakistan lies in deep cooperation and mutual trust between the two countries.

As far as the new military strategy of the U.S. relating to Afghanistan is concerned, even that will not solve the problem. The problem cannot be solved by military strength; rather, the only way to solve it is through talks and discussions with different Taliban groups, particularly those who are opposed to terrorism, and by including them in the peace process.