{"id":194213,"date":"2021-09-06T12:00:05","date_gmt":"2021-09-06T11:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=194213"},"modified":"2021-09-05T04:56:06","modified_gmt":"2021-09-05T03:56:06","slug":"reflections-on-events-in-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2021\/09\/reflections-on-events-in-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on Events in Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"

US Slips out of Kabul but Is Vengeful<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Taliban\u2019s elite Badri 313 military unit takes position after US troop withdrawal from Kabul airport on August 31, 2021.<\/p><\/div>\n

1 Sep 2021 – <\/em>The back-to-back press briefings on August 30 by General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr, commander, US Central Command and Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, on Afghanistan conveys the picture of a superpower badly bruised and embittered but remaining vengeful. This is bad news.<\/p>\n

Gen. McKenzie said,<\/p>\n

\u201cTaliban had been very \u2014 very pragmatic and very business-like\u2026 they were actually very helpful and useful to us as we closed down operations\u201d<\/em>. But then, Americans wouldn\u2019t even share with the Taliban the exact time of their \u201ctactical exfiltration<\/em>\u201d. Nor was there any \u201cdiscussion of turning anything over.<\/em>\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Five plane-loads of US personnel, civilian and military, just made themselves scarce from Afghan soil on August 31, the deadline for vacation of occupation set by the Taliban! What a bizarre way to end the \u201cforever war\u201d!<\/p>\n

The bitterness shows. Before leaving, the US \u201cdemilitarised\u201d Kabul Airport. That is, the US disabled the C-RAM systems that provide air defence for the airport against rocket attacks \u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cso that they\u2019ll never be used again\u201d \u2014 and some seven dozen MRAPs (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected light tactical vehicles) \u2014 \u201cthat will never be used again by anyone\u201d \u2014 as well as 27 Humvees tactical vehicles \u2014 \u201cthat will never be driven again.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd additionally, on the ramp at \u2014 at HKIA (Hamid Karzai International Airport) are a total of 73 aircraft. Those (Afghan) aircraft will never fly again when we left. They\u2019ll never be able to be operated by anyone\u2026 certainly they\u2019ll never be able to be flown again,\u201d<\/em> Gen. McKenzie boasted.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why such scorched earth policy? The petulance shows. But the four-star general wasn\u2019t even asked to explain why he was so thoroughly pleased with himself. Clearly, the US regards the Taliban as potential enemy and has defanged it to whatever extent possible.<\/p>\n

And this, while Gen. McKenzie also acknowledged that the ISIS remains<\/p>\n

\u201ca very lethal force and I think we would assess that probably there are at least 2,000 hardcore ISIS fighters in Afghanistan now\u2026 and that\u2019s going to be a challenge for the Taliban, I believe, in the days ahead.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On the other hand, the general also insisted,<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need the (Kabul) airport to be operational and we need the airport to be operational quickly for civilian \u2014 you know, for civilian traffic. So we\u2019re going to do everything we can to \u2014 to help with that.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Therefore, the US didn\u2019t \u201cdemilitarise\u201d the equipment necessary for civilian airport operations such as fire trucks and front-end loaders and so on so that Kabul Airport can be operational \u201cas soon as possible\u201d to continue the evacuation of Afghans and stranded foreigners.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to be a general to know that so long as Kabul Airport is under threat from rocket attacks, no civilian airline will operate there. Yet, the US \u201cdemilitarised\u201d the airport!<\/p>\n

Sophistry aside, the fact of the matter is that the US is not in a forgiving mood for being humiliated in such a manner by an insurgent force and made to look \u201closer\u201d internationally. It will do whatever is needed to make life hell for the Taliban militarily.<\/p>\n

Apr\u00e8s moi, le d\u00e9luge<\/i>!<\/p>\n

Gen. McKenzie refused to be drawn into discussion on the US\u2019 future dealings with the Taliban. He was evasive:<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t foresee the way future coordination between us (US-Taliban)\u00a0 <\/span>would go. I would leave that for \u2014 for some future date. I will simply say that they wanted us out; we wanted to get out with our people and with our \u2014 and with our friends and partners. And so for that short period of time, our issues \u2014 our \u2014 our \u2014 our view of the world was congruent, it was the same.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The embittered tone is self-evident. And the schadenfreude <\/i>too <\/i>was on display:<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe the Taliban is going to have their hands full with ISIS-K. And they let a lot of those people out of prisons, and now they\u2019re going to be able to reap what they sowed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I think that the \u2014 the terror threat is going to be very high. And I don\u2019t want to minimise that.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The game plan is to make the Taliban crawl on their knees and beg for help from the NATO to operate the Kabul Airport.<\/p>\n

The US is unlikely to respect Afghan sovereignty and territorial integrity. Afghanistan is of high importance as a strategic hub to pursue the containment of China, Russia and Iran.\u00a0In the name of counter-intelligence and fight against ISIS terrorism, there is always scope for intervention whether the Taliban government approves it or not. At the same time, the UN Security Council resolution of August 30 gives a handle to pile pressure on the Taliban \u2014 although the debate showed Russia and China are on guard already. read more<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The US wields much influence among the non-Taliban spectrum of Afghan politics. Unless the Taliban bend to the US wishes, Washington has the option to play the Afghan factions against each other, including the factions within the Taliban. In the US estimation, there is a long way to go for the Taliban to establish dominance in the country.\u00a0On whole, Gen. Mckenzie sounded sceptical about the Taliban\u2019s future. read more<\/strong><\/a> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Without doubt, the US intelligence has penetrated the Taliban and possibly is even capable of splintering the Taliban. Suffice to say, if push comes to shove, the US can create a Syria-like situation to effectively keep Afghanistan unstable so as to thwart China\u2019s plans for Belt and Road and for exploitation of the country\u2019s vast mineral wealth estimated to be in thr region of $3 trillion.<\/p>\n

The Syrian pattern means working through local proxies. The rebels in Panjshir have strong western connection. Amrullah Saleh was trained by the CIA in the 1990s. Ahmad Massoud is a product of Sandhurst and King\u2019s College, London (the latter is famous for \u201ctalent spotting\u201d.) Massoud, in fact, has sought western help to fight the Taliban.<\/p>\n

In his press briefing on August 30, Blinken was quite blunt \u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cwhile we have expectations of the Taliban, that doesn\u2019t mean we will rely on the Taliban\u2026 Going forward, any engagement with a Taliban-led government in Kabul will be driven by one thing only: our vital national interests.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The US is putting in place the coercive tools needed to pressure Taliban. In Blinken\u2019s words,<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main point I want to drive home here today is that America\u2019s work in Afghanistan continues.\u00a0 We have a plan for what\u2019s next.\u00a0 We\u2019re putting it into action.<\/em>\u201d read more<\/b><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No, there isn\u2019t going to be any repeat of the \u201cVietnam syndrome\u201d.<\/p>\n

Go to Original – indianpunchline.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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