President Obama is debating with his war council whether to despatch another 40,000 to 50,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.
It would be a serious error to escalate the war in Afghanistan. The US should have learnt by now that wars fought on foreign soil are almost impossible to win decisively. In Vietnam and Iraq, the US has had to face intense international pressure as well as a huge loss in its credibility.
The Afghans are a tough fighting lot. It is not easy to vanquish them in a battle, especially when the terrain of rugged mountains is their battle ground. The mountains of Afghanistan are as hazardous as the rain forests of Vietnam. American and NATO soldiers will find them tricky. Obama should study the failures of leaders like President Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon in Vietnam before committing the US to additional troops in Afghanistan. During the entire election campaign, Obama attacked George Bush relentlessly for his Iraq strategy. However, Afghanistan is in danger of becoming another major international war zone, led by the US.
Moreover, why not just talk to the Afghans? Obama has shown maturity in offering to talk directly with the top leadership in Iran. Then why not talk to the Afghan leaders too?
Even Rudyard Kipling, the renowned British poet, extolled the toughness of Afghans around 70 years ago, whilst advising young British soldiers, “When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains/ And the women come out to cut up what remains/ Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains/ And go to your Gawd like a soldier.”
It would make eminent sense for Obama and NATO to exercise the utmost discretion and resolve issues in Afghanistan through debate. Afghans are not equipped with sophisticated or nuclear weapons. They believe in an idea. If we disagree with their idea, we must talk to them. Recent history in Vietnam, Palestine and Iraq, teaches us that no gun can ever vanquish an idea.
This is not the time to be macho, but a time to be sensible.
Rajendra K Aneja, Dubai
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