US Troops To Stay In Afghanistan, Forever – OpEd

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I started writing about geopolitics in South Asia and MENA about five years back. The objective was to share my views with global readers, particularly the Think Tanks operating in the US. Most of the topics I picked up over the years were: 1) proxy wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, 2) imposition of economic sanctions on Iran for decades, 3) use of crude oil as weapon, 4) melodramas in the name of change of regime, 5) creations of phantoms like Taliban, Al Qaeda and ISIS and 6) dishonest western media.

The title of my second blog article written 2012 was, Will US pull its troops out of Afghanistan in 2014? Despite having little knowledge about international relations or geopolitics at that time, my conclusion was that the US will never pull its troops out of Afghanistan.

My conclusion was based on the fact that presence of the US troops in Afghanistan provides it a safe haven for undertaking cross border actions in Pakistan, Iran, China and some of the energy rich Central Asian countries.

I had deliberately avoided mentioning drugs as one of the prime reasons for the US troops for occupying Afghanistan, but one of the readers was prompt in raising this point. If one thinks with a cool head this may be a key reason because it gives control over the drug trade and also the money to be paid to militants for killing the innocents ruthlessly and to keep the world permanently under fear.

It may also be said that Afghanistan has become a nursery for growing mercenaries and people from around the world to get training in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan. They are also paid from the money earned from cultivation of poppies.

Having been born and grown up in war-ridden Afghanistan, the locals have become ‘blood thirsty’ and suffer from restlessness. Ironically they not only kill their own countrymen, but also go to places where conflicts have been created by the super powers to satisfy their lust.

After fighting two world wars, the super power have decided to fight proxy wars, sell arms to the governments where rebel groups have been created by them, and use the income from drugs and oil for buying arms. The job becomes easier through the propagation of regime change mantra.

These super powers are among the sponsors of the UN, created for restoring peace in the world. However, now the only role of Security Council is to grant permission for attacking a country chosen for the proxy war. Two of the worst examples are Afghanistan and Iraq. All too often military dictators are made head sof state and often the drama of sham democracy is staged.

Shabbir H. Kazmi

Shabbir H. Kazmi is an economic analyst from Pakistan. He has been writing for local and foreign publications for about quarter of a century. He maintains the blog ‘Geo Politics in South Asia and MENA’. He can be contacted at [email protected]

One thought on “US Troops To Stay In Afghanistan, Forever – OpEd

  • December 27, 2016 at 7:39 am
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    While true in the short term, The US no longer operates as the sole Hyper power of the world. Consequently, efforts are on by regional players to ensure that a broader interpretation of representation and security is applied in Afghanistan as opposed to the unilateral definition espoused by the US and its advocates . And considering the drubbing received by the US and its allies in Syria, an alternative approach appears may have more traction than in the past.

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