In Afghanistan, a dance of death with no accountability
On September 17, US drones hit a group of farm workers in Eastern Nangarhar province killing 30 and wounding many more. The poor daily wage earners were taking rest after a hard day’s work of harvesting pine nuts, but there was no official statement of remorse as it was a case of mistaken identity.
Fast on the heels of this, another drone struck a wedding party at night in the Helmand province in Southern Afghanistan on September 23, killing 40 and injuring more than two dozen other guests. Those killed included women and children. Some of the survivors are in critical condition, but once more, there were no formal apologies. Targeting innocent civilians has become the norm in a country where no one is held to account for unforgivable acts of omission and commission.
After he unilaterally ended peace talks, when President Trump declared he would hit the Taliban harder than ever before, he was delivering a stark message to his troops on the ground: Chase and hit out at Taliban and their backers indiscriminately, regardless of consequences. And it seems US forces, unhindered by the restrictions of accountability, are doing just that.
What’s more, the senseless killing is by no means confined to just the two incidents mentioned above. Across the country, there has been more lethal attacks, unrestrained by any consideration of collateral damage to property or civilians, villages, markets or mosques. US and NATO forces have unleashed a ferocious wave of deadly attacks to teach the Taliban a lesson, and in the process, to spread fear and create chaos in the country.
But what does the US want to accomplish by attacks that border on barbarism?
As the war drags on and hopes fade for any reconciliation in Afghanistan, the stake holders — the US, the Afghan government and the Taliban, will launch more deadly attacks on each other’s positions
Rustam Shah
For many years, observers have held the opinion that this is a war that is wholly unwarranted. It has no end goal and because it has no definable objectives, it has no end.
How sad that in this era of so-called enlightenment, a super-power can initiate a senseless conflict, inflict pain and misery on a country by killing tens of thousands, and expend more than $1.4 trillion on a meaningless project, without being questioned by any international forum.
The US can get away with its actions not solely because of its immense military prowess, but also because of the lukewarm attitude of many others in the world community, who fear a backlash if they raise voices of sanity.
As the war drags on and hopes fade for any reconciliation in Afghanistan, the stake holders— the US, the Afghan government and the Taliban, will launch more deadly attacks on each other’s positions. There will be no winners, but rank and file Afghans will suffer as they have in recent years.
The conflict will continue because the Taliban have no shortage of volunteers willing to fight and sacrifice their lives for a cause they consider sacrosanct. That cause is the expulsion of foreign forces, or in their view, the occupying forces. The US is fighting with no aims and objectives to accomplish. The regime in Kabul wants to prolong the status quo, which would mean reliance on continued international financial and military support. Can this last indefinitely?
For how long will major donors be expected to shoulder the burden of sustaining the Kabul government despite its incompetence, corruption and lack of direction?
According to a recent survey conducted by several NGO’s, as well as the United National Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, more than half of the people in Afghanistan are living in multi-dimensional poverty, with unemployment surging to 45 percent. Narcotics addiction is on the rise. Over 10 percent of soldiers in the Afghan national army are deserting their ranks. Opium production has gone up 7,000 tons. The country needs $4.5 billion for the maintenance cost of its army and police, whereas the total revenue generation is about $2 billion only.
If the stalemate persists and fighting intensifies, there is a fear that other groups like Daesh, the East Turkistan Islamic movement etc., could also jump into the fray, taking advantage of a rapidly deteriorating security environment. The country could descend into chaos.
The US must stop playing with Afghanistan’s destiny, and the Taliban must seek a reconciliation that leads to a broad-based, multi-ethnic government that can restore peace.
It is important to realize that the shorter this period of uncertainty, the better. Prolongation of an unhappy interlude which drives stakeholders to use maximum force, regardless of the damage it causes, is dangerous. The explosive situation can snowball into an open ended civil war with no victors, but with enormous cost to human life and infrastructure. The US must give up its intransigence, and not allow eleven months of difficult negotiations to go waste.
— Rustam Shah Mohmand is a specialist of Afghanistan and Central Asian Affairs. He has served as Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan and also held position of Chief Commissioner Refugees for a decade
