Obama wants to make friends with the Taliban

Barack Obama is attempting to take on the radical Islamic militants of Pakistan and perhaps even in Afghanistan in a way quite different to his predecessors. Instead of engaging them militarily and attempting to defeat them with the assistance of local security forces, he is now aiming in Pakistan to win over the ordinary people to his side and even seek the cooperation of militants who are amenable to his proposals.

On Thursday the US Congress voted for a 7.5 billion dollar package deal for Pakistan which would be a long term investment to combat Taliban influence as well as that of al Qaeda by building schools, empowering women and strengthening civilian government. The Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi had said that the legislation would provide Pakistan with the necessary tools and capabilities to defeat al Qaeda and other terrorist groups that threaten America’s national security.

Howard Berman, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee was quoted as saying that the United States can’t afford al Qaeda or any other terrorist group to operate with impunity in the tribal areas or any other regions of Pakistan. Obama, while speaking of the need to win over the ‘hearts and minds’ of the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan had however under his administration stepped up aerial bombings by unmanned drone aircraft  resulting in the killing of a few terrorist leaders but many more civilians. It is now reported that such aerial bombings in both countries have been markedly reduced.

Military assistance

Pumping in massive amounts of civilian foreign assistance is a change from the earlier American funding to Pakistan under military dictators, Zia ul Haq and Pervez Musharraf when billions of dollars were granted but went mainly for military expenditure. Despite such massive earlier assistance, the great majority of the people remain impoverished. There is an elite class of rich industrialists, businessmen and landowners while the vast majority remain abjectly poor as indicated by its very low level of literacy.

Pakistan under General Musharraf promoted the Taliban in Afghanistan and supported the Taliban government although covertly most of the time. The Pakistan Intelligence Service it is alleged had played a significant role in helping the extremists of the Taliban regime. But when America invaded Afghanistan following the refusal of the Taliban regime to hand over al Qaeda Leader Osama bin Laden, Pakistani President Musharraf was compelled to switch over to the American side.

The Taliban particularly its leadership then crossed the Afghanistan-Pakistan border into rugged Waziristan region of Pakistan and later infiltrated the entire country. Pakistani   governments under Musharraf and now under Asif Zardari have been shaken up by the Taliban and the government is engaged in a tense battle to defeat the Taliban deploying as much as 75,000 troops.

Poverty as a problem

The problem faced by pro Western Pakistani governments has been that a vast section of the populace — mainly the poor — are sympathetic towards the Taliban and many of them have no qualms against Taliban rule such as the enforcement of the Sharia Law which had been  practised for centuries in some regions.

Afghanistan

In Afghanistan too American troops are now facing a daunting challenge from the Afghan Taliban.

Americans using high tech strategies of then defence secretary drove out the Taliban from Kabul into the mountains of the Hindu Kush range,  but within years they were back in urban areas and are now challenging NATO and Afghan troops even in  Kabul.

President Obama once called this Afghan war a ‘ war of necessity’ but the mounting body count of American soldiers and the increasing pressure of the American public is apparently

making the American administration to have second thoughts. Eight years of war is making NATO allies as well as the Americans at home war weary.

The report of General Stanley Mc Chrystal, NATO’s new commander in Afghanistan caused alarm in Washington last month. He has said that the situation in Afghanistan is serious but success is achievable. But for that he would need thousands of additional troops. The directives of the commander to his troops have been: Protect the Afghan population rather than kill or capture insurgents; build up Afghan forces; boost the legitimacy of the Kabul government and improve coordination of civilian aid.

The Economist  reports: The Taliban and Western backed Afghan government are fighting for allegiance of the Afghan people, says the general; ‘the people will decide who wins.’

Gen. Mc Chrystal it is rumoured wants more troops than the 100,000 troops to protect the people but this analysts say would depend on whether the Afghan sees bigger number of troops as an occupying force and whether America  and Western nations will be prepared to shed more blood of their youth in this desolate country.

Afghanistan, a country with perhaps the most rugged mountain terrain and hardened impoverished people have defied conquest of their country by world powers twice. In the 19th Century it defied imperial Britain and in the last century the Soviet Union, at that time a superpower. Now America with European nations are in Afghanistan and whatever good intentions they may have, would afghans accept Westerners who are considered infidels, as friends?

A report of a Western journal of  attempts to win over the hearts and minds of the Afghans — as the saying goes — speaks of a village in the Wardah province cleared by NATO troops to help and protect the people. It says that the NATO troops are not certain whether the Afghans are afraid of the Taliban or sympathetic towards them or both!

A suggested strategy is to pull out NATO troops from the interior villages and have them on the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent  Taliban  movements while having trained Afghan troops to take on the Taliban in the interior. For this strategy Gen. Mc Chrystal may want 220,000 troops or even double than amount if the conflict escalates reports say.

President Obama would be faced with an extremely difficult situation  if the conflict keeps escalating. He has a choice of making friends with the terrorists or making war. In Pakistan he has chosen the first option.