Hamid Karzai and his government are earnestly busy in ending war in war-torn Afghanistan. Washington and its darling and much-approved sitting Kabul government has recently taken up new policies to defeat the Taliban led by Mullah Muhammad Umer and other insurgents. Whether these bureaucratic and military efforts would yield a result, is a billion dollar question; to the surprise of peace loving people. America would leave in place its civilian officers after calling back troops from Afghanistan. According to Mark Lander, a reporter of The New York Times.

The U.S. administration has injected new civilian officers (now 1,000 in Afghanistan). In addition to the already existing experts, three hundred technical experts are also expected in upcoming months. America and the UK are also working on a joint strategy to establish a crime task force there, a future scene signals.

The American administration, as per reports, is planning to establish an agricultural bank, with a preliminary investment of 500 million dollars. Out of these, the U.S. will contribute 50 million dollars only and the other countries will pay the rest. For the time being 100 agricultural experts are working in the South and East of Afghanistan to introduce a new agricultural system, aimed at introducing alternatives to poppy cultivators. 

In order to deflect the Taliban’s propaganda machinery, an expert from CNN and ABC, Mr David Rancer, would work with the NATO team in Afghanistan. The U.S., the UK, Japan and some other countries have established a huge fund to help Taliban dissidents. All these efforts have been designed to pacify hatred against America and U.S.-led forces for unabatedly invading Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is a failed state and President Barak H. Obama has announced plans to withdraw from it by mid 2011, according to Bancroft-Hinchey. He writes: “Nine years ago NATO was going to breeze into Afghanistan, sweep the Taleban from power and install a nice, stable government, while the Tokyo and Berlin Reconstruction Conference for the five years starting December 2001 pledged USD 134 billion for projects. In 2005, the Human Development index for Afghanistan was 173 out of 178 countries. Today it is 181 out of 182”.

As far as infrastructure is concerned, roads remain unbuilt, a tiny percentage of Afghans continue to have access to basic utilities. Unemployment is rife, the country, despite NATO’s presence for nearly a decade, ranks lower and lower in terms of human and economic development indices. Opium production has risen 40-fold. Drug income represents over 60% of the economy. Afghanistan has the worst record for infant deaths and has a life expectancy of 44 years.

All this, despite hundreds of billions of dollars being spent by NATO, a force that appears powerless to defend the population from the activities of a handful of warlords.

The recent UNO report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (2010 Mid-Year Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict), reveals shocking statistics: the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan in the first six months of 2010 has risen by 31% over the same period last year due to an increase in the number of hostile actions undertaken by armed elements.

According to the UN Mission UNAMA, human causalities in this period totaled 1,271 dead and 1,997 injured. Of these 3,268 causalities, 76 per cent were attributed to the activities of Anti-Government Elements (a rise of 53%) and 12 per cent were caused by the actions of Pro-Government Elements (a decrease of 30%), while the number of children killed or injured has increased by 55%.

The same report stated that aerial bombardment by the International Security Assistance Force was the main cause of the causalities inflicted by the Pro-Government Elements, namely 69 of the 223 civilians deaths and 45 injuries, although the number of victims of these attacks had decreased by 64% over the course of the year.

Georgette Gagnon, Director of Human Rights for UNAMA, declared: “Nine years into the conflict, measures to protect Afghan civilians effectively and to minimize the impact of the conflict on basic human rights are more urgent than ever”.

Calling on all those concerned to do more to protect civilians, complying with their obligations under international law, the report recommends that the International military forces should make their accountability more transparent in the case of human casualties and be more careful when perpetrating aerial activities, that the Afghan Government should create a special organism to respond to casualty incidents and that the Taliban should cease “executing civilians.”

Under the Geneva Convention Relating to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the clauses stipulate clearly that the invading forces have a responsibility to protect civilians, if after nine years, the casualties are rising, and then it is a telling statement about the incapacity of NATO to conduct the mission successfully.

What then is NATO doing in Afghanistan? Could it have anything to do with the reported trillions of dollars-worth of untapped mineral resources?

What is the Future?

The United Nations has already voiced concern about the risk of Afghanistan slipping into an unmanageable situation, urging the international community to step up assistance efforts and revise its strategy there.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and his special envoy for Afghanistan, Kai Eide, briefed the Security Council at an open meeting on the latest developments in the Central Asian Country, on January 6, 2010.

Ban is of the view that Afghanistan now stands at “a critical juncture” after a year that had been “extremely challenging” with difficult elections, deteriorating security, doubts about the current strategies of both the government and international community leading to further violence and uncertainly.

In his view, there could be no doubt that the country would remain a priority for 2010, with the aims of strengthening the government and coordinating all programs under the United Nations umbrella. Ban stated that last year’s electoral process was problematic, to say the least, though the results were ultimately accepted.

Preparations for this year’s parliamentary elections were expected to start soon and the United Nations stood ready to offer support, technical assistance and institution building.

More generally, Ban hoped that the tremendous political energy released during the recent elections would now be directed toward a meaningful, realistic and renewed pact between the Afghan government and its people.

Rasmussen Reports

The American public is not in favor of continuing war in Afghanistan. Rasmussen Reports is an electronic media company that in its latest survey reveals that.

A plurality of voters nationwide continues to believe the U.S. situation in Afghanistan will get worse in the next six months.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters finds that 46% feel this way; while only 22% believe the situation will get better. Another 22% think the situation will remain about the same as it is now.
These figures have improved slightly from last month, when only 18% felt situation there would get better and 48% thought the opposite.

Twenty-seven percent (27%) of voters believe all the U.S. troops should be brought home from Afghanistan immediately, a finding that has remained largely uncertain since last November. However, those numbers are also a bit more optimistic compared to results of last month, when nearly half of voters still expected the situation there to get worse.

Forty-two percent (42%) say the United States and its allies are winning the war on terror, down slightly from September. Twenty-eight percent (28%) disagree and think the terrorists are winning; the highest finding since May. Twenty-one percent (21%) say neither side is winning the War on Terror.

Just under half the nation’s voters (46%) say the United States is safer today as was before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Thirty-six percent (36%) do not think the country is safer today, and 17% are still not sure.

August was the first time since December that the number who felt the nation to be safe was higher than the number of those who disagreed. Just after president Obama took office in January 2009, 54% felt the country was safer than before September 11.

Voters still hold the United States military in high regard. Eighty-seven percent (87%) rate the military’s performance as good or excellent and just four percent (4%) give the military a poor rating.

Thirty-nine percent (39%) expect America’s relationship with the Muslim world to be worse one year from now, a level reached only twice after failed terrorist attempts - and the most pessimistic assessment in 15 months.

Seventy-one percent (71%) of Americans think it is at least somewhat likely that an event as devastating as September 11 will happen within the next decade, including 39% who say it is very likely.

Keeping in view all these facts on file, an expert on war affairs may suggest the following points:

1)    Hamid Karzai should initiate dialogue with the Taliban and other dissident groups.
2)    The invaders of the U.S.-led NATO Afghan faction should sit down at a negotiation table and fix a timeframe to say good-bye to war and introduce peace.
3)    American military could become exhausted from not ending the war, but the Afghans will not.

Perceived Solutions for Afghanistan unconditional withdrawal of Allied Forces

In the year 2011, unconditional withdrawal of all military paramilitary troops could pave a way to permanent, undiluted peace in Afghanistan. Afghans whether they come of hazara, Tadjik, Pushtun or Uzbek tribes, they have no difference over the opinion that war in Afghanistan can be brought to an end only when foreign troops, whatever nationality they show or what ever government they are representing should leave every inch of the Afghan state. This solution is the only solution that has not yet been materialized. Undoubtedly there are certain groups who have drawn up and discussed the prospects of the situation after the withdrawal but no other solution would be more penetrating than this chaos and more.

There is the presence of so many cooks and so many broths. Now after six months or after sixty years, this is the only viable solution for Afghanistan. If foreign troops are not sent back, I am afraid that many more 9/11´s may turn up.

Muslim block’s participation in looking after caretaker government.

The Afghanistan issue can be resolved by inviting all political groups to join an interim government (Minus Hamid karzai) and that government would ensure the end of war in all provinces of Afghanistan. For the reconstruction of Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia and Turkey should commit ensure huge construction funds. An Interim government would be responsible for penalizing any group, community or ethnic minority who deviates from the constitution. In this period, a constitution should be finalized for the smooth running of the country in future. The Organization of Islamic countries may play a role in reaching the interim government goal.

Neighboring interference be brought to an end.

It is apparent that Afghanistan’s neighboring countries have played a negative role in causing the deterioration of the condition of Afghanistan. The Russians, due to various reasons played an active role in destabilizing Afghanistan. Indian government did not miss any chances of making its roots stronger and turning Afghanistan into a sweatshop for her. Iran, Pakistan and Azerbaijan did play a role in Afghanistan. These countries initiated various projects and diplomatic moves to destabilize the Afghan homeland. In order to establish peace and to make Afghanistan a powerful country, neighboring interference should be stopped forthwith and the U.S.A should stand as a guarantor of peace in region.