Washington and Kabul on the Razor’s Edge

Up to its neck in the Afghanistan war, the American government is learning the hard way that the jolts on the battlefield are dictating its politics in the region, not the orderly plans made by the Pentagon. In President Barack Obama’s own words, the “tragic and shocking” massacre perpetrated by an American G.I. early Sunday in the Kandahar province was a devastating blow that could toll the bell for all American presence in Afghanistan in the very near future.

On Friday, Washington and Kabul had just engaged in successful talks about establishing a “strategic partnership,” defining the conditions of the long-term American presence in Afghanistan after the departure of its armed forces in 2014. These conditions include transferring control of Bagram Prison to the Afghan authorities, the same prison where copies of the Quran were accidentally burned in February, generating deadly protests all over the country.

Afghanistan demanded that the United States, prior to signing any agreement, hand over all American-run detention centers in Afghanistan to the Afghan authorities and that NATO immediately cease all helicopter raids at night, which end up killing mostly civilians. However, the Obama administration essentially got what it came for: The prospect of a smooth withdrawal of its 90,000 soldiers over a two-year time period. Following the withdrawal, a few hundred American instructors would remain to finish training the Afghan army.

Strong Emotions

The beginning of reconciliation between the two allies, who were once at daggers drawn, is now hanging by a thread. President Hamid Karzaï did not have any choice other than conveying his people’s anger and denouncing “an inhuman and intentional act.”

Could all this delay the signing of the strategic partnership agreement? “It is not the decision of the Army officer to order somebody to do something like this,” said Abdul Hadi Arghandihwal, the Afghan Minister of Economy, trying to appease the people. “Probably there are going to be many demonstrations, but it will not change the decisions of our government about our relationship with the United States.” The Afghan Parliament asked for the perpetrator of the killings to get a public trial in Afghanistan, no less. However, this suggestion was politely disregarded by American authorities.

This massacre also generates strong emotions in the United States, amid a presidential campaign carrying an isolationist stench, causing Americans to question the reason for their continued involvement in Afghanistan. In a poll on Monday, 60 percent of the people said that the war, which started in 2001, has not been worth it. “Let’s not forget that we went to war in Afghanistan because it is where the plan 9/11 originated,” objected Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist for the Dewey Square Group. “We should have left Afghanistan a long time ago,” retorted Will Cain, a conservative CNN contributor. “We never developed clear strategic objectives and our soldiers continue to die for nothing.”