by M.A. Sofi 13 July 2021
It’s either peace in Afghanistan or the region going into pieces.
Following the crushing defeat of the mighty Americans at the hands of the non-descript Taliban in Afghanistan, which was accompanied by the hasty exit of about 95% of the NATO forces stationed there since 2001, well ahead of the stipulated date of Sept.11, 2021, the stage is now set for the beginning of a new era in the region which could lead to the shaping of new equations and the formation newer alliances between the countries which are likely to be impacted by these developments. After all, peace in Afghanistan or its absence from that land could make a difference between a calm climate and a cauldron of chaos prevailing in the region. This is especially so because right now, the Taliban are riding high on self-confidence because of repeating a similar historical feat barely thirty-five years since they had made another superpower eat the dust on its soil. This lack of stomach for external aggression among Afghans is unique and is unmatched elsewhere. That should explain why they are not easy pushovers who could be vanquished by force. Even a smattering of the recent history surrounding the developments in the region would suffice to convince even the most diehard skeptics that peace in Afghanistan ought to be seen as the greatest hope for peace in the entire region and that obversely, political chaos/instability in that country would not spare other countries in the region where it would seamlessly spill into like water does from a higher to a lower level. Incidentally, the great Allama Dr. Sir Mohammad Iqbal had voiced the same concern more than a century ago. The present scenario as it unfolds in Afghanistan right now does not seem to portend glad tidings for the region, considering that the Americans and their supine allies have done their bit in doing what they have all along been too good at doing: brazen their way into a land of their choosing wherever they would wish to, ostensibly “to restore peace, order, and stability” there, but actually and intentionally, reduce it to ashes, to the stone age if you like.
Is it not that the Augean Stables that we are now witnessing in the shape of present-day Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, or Afghanistan used to be the islands of peace, stability, and prosperity till these beautiful lands were trampled upon under the jackboots of these “gods of the civilised world” and for reasons which were invented as excuses to invade these lands, of course with ulterior motives, that merely ended up being turned into a massive slaughterhouse where tens of millions of innocent lives have been snuffed out of existence. Incidentally, their lackeys’ closer home is closely following into their footsteps and replicating such devious acts of political/social engineering to tighten their grip and perpetuate their hold on power.
To put things into perspective, let us try to understand why did Americans have to invade Afghanistan, Iraq, or other countries in the region – and even elsewhere – in the first place? Of course to exploit the natural resources there, but more importantly, the idea was to cut their rulers to size, being perceived as they were, to be getting too big for their boots, lest they might accumulate enough heft to challenge the authority of the big bully or its minions around the world. To this end, a ready-made recipe has been for the Americans and their allies to invent ruses, like this one that Saddam Husain had accumulated WMD, a canard that was proved to be the greatest lie that they had manufactured to attack these countries. This is why Tony Blair had later backtracked and even apologised to his people for supporting George W. Bush in spreading this myth. And to what end? Surely, nothing other than turning their oil fields and green pastures into killing fields where more than half a million Iraqis and half as many in Afghanistan, including about half of the victims being civilians, had perished. Again, is it not too well known that it was the Americans who had pampered Saddam Husain enough to provoke him to invade Kuwait to have yet another excuse to go into Iraq, ostensibly to stop him in his tracks? In the same vein, don’t we know how the selfsame Americans egged on him to invade Iran that had led to a war between the two nations and that had staggered over twelve long years, bringing in its wake untold misery and disaster to the peoples of the two countries?
On the other side of the spectrum and based on certain instances involving their track record of governance during their previous innings in the government, one may have reasons to contend that the Taliban may not be the best bet to rule their country this time around. But that’s only one side of the picture. To clarify the issue, let us note that those who support America’s continued presence in Afghanistan are naturally expected to believe that the main idea of their presence there was to restore democratic order in that country. And should that indeed be so, it is natural to plead that their concern for the restoration of democratic order in Afghanistan would dictate that the choice of who should govern them ought to be the exclusive prerogative of the people of Afghanistan. Come to think of it, the present Afghan leader, Ashraf Ghani, had the support of a measly 4 lakh Afghans who had voted for him out of an abysmally low voter turnout of 2.5 million during the previous elections. To take a final call on who is best suited to rule that country, the most natural thing to do would be to call a referendum to be held there to find out whether the Afghans want the Taliban or the American stooges to rule them. That alone would ensure peace in that country, and by implication, in the region at large, including the possibility of how a peaceful Afghanistan would positively impact Kashmir, which has had enough of it in terms of violence and bloodshed from all possible quarters.
That having been said, the fear is that the Americans and their newfound regional ally in the subcontinent would not let peace prevail in Afghanistan as in that event. To their comfort, their common Bete Noire across the border would continue to remain embroiled in the sort of turmoil that had cost that country billions of dollars’ worth in economy, apart from eighty thousand-odd lives of its citizens who were lost to violence that flowed from Afghanistan immediately after the so-called war on terror by the US and its allies followed the 9/11 attacks. That was because Pakistan was being seen by the Taliban and their supporters there as facilitators to the American war machine in Afghanistan, who were being provided the necessary logistics and support, including its soil, to launch air raids against the Taliban from there. That was surely an instance of how violence from neighbouring Afghanistan had spilled over into that country, primarily because there were very few takers in Pakistan for its land and air space being allowed to be used by the Americans to go after the Taliban in the immediate aftermath of the American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. And now the Americans have the cheek to repeat that mayhem yet again, expecting to spill the blood of its ‘tormentor’ in Afghanistan from the safe confines of a land that had hitherto offered itself in the service of the big bully. Mercifully, that’s no longer the case now as they find themselves having to play ball with someone over there who means business and who has the spine, the courage, the guts, and the gravitas to say a resounding “Absolutely No” to the international Don! So much for how the American hearts bleed for human rights and democracies around the world!
Prof. M. A. Sofi, Srinagar, India, aminsofi@gmail.com