The Dawn - 16-07-2010

A State of Confusion

WASHINGTON’S lack of direction in its Afghanistan policy is perplexing. The mixed signals coming from the US suggest that the Afghan imbroglio is not being dealt with in a desirable fashion. As reported in this newspaper, US opposition has halted efforts by Pakistan to bring the Haqqani network to the table in order to make peace with the Afghan government. The hardening in the American stance came after Gen David Petraeus replaced Stanley McChrystal as the Isaf commander. Petraeus wants the militants defeated in the field and favours designating the Haqqani network as a terrorist group. This, it is said, will torpedo efforts for a political solution to the Afghan quagmire.

However, one US senior official said recently that there is room for those who want to “come in from the cold”. Differences between the American civilian and military leadership over how to deal with Afghanistan were brought to light by Gen McChrystal’s indiscretions. But Washington must clearly spell out what sort of policy it wants to pursue in Afghanistan. Abrupt about-faces in this regard will not help. Washington needs to communicate to Islamabad and Kabul its vision for an Afghan solution. The US administration’s own lack of clarity was evident in the frustration expressed by senior lawmakers as they grilled Richard Holbrooke during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.

The confusion needs to end and Washington needs to pursue a solid Afghan policy. As long as confusion prevails only the militants will benefit and an end to the war will be unlikely in the foreseeable future. If the US keeps changing its stance every time a new general takes command of the operation it will cause much bitterness in both Islamabad and Kabul. It is significant that both the Afghan and Pakistani governments are on the same page with regard to bringing most of the Afghan Taliban into the political mainstream. This is a welcome departure from the mistrust of the past. If the Americans have credible information that the link between Al Qaeda and the Haqqanis is too strong to be severed, they should share it with Kabul and Islamabad. Or else it’ll be seen as an effort to scuttle Hamid Karzai’s efforts to forge an ‘all-Afghan’ solution. Senior American lawmakers have admitted that the Haqqanis are the most significant threat to stability in Afghanistan. They must now decide whether to engage the militants politically or to dig in for what appears to be an open-ended conflict.

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