RSS Feed
August 12th, 2021 
Awake Goy Afghanistan is in a state of chaos. In a major military offensive, the Taliban has taken over nine provincial capitals with two falling to the militia on the night of Aug. 10.
As the militant group ignores peace negotiations and as their killings of civilians, prisoners, and government leaders increase, a cry for a change in U.S. policy is growing louder.
“Given the Taliban’s behavior lately, U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to rapidly withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan appears increasingly questionable,” said five former U.S. diplomats to Afghanistan (James Cunningham, Hugo Llorens, Ronald Neumann, Richard Olson, and Earl Anthony Wayne) in an analysis published by the Atlantic Council on Aug. 6.
Whether or not the Afghan resistance to the Taliban wins, the outcome will be of catastrophic proportions, and the United States should continue limited engagement and prevent total state collapse and chaos, said the five former diplomats.
“Abandoning courageous people as they attempt to fight back could leave millions of Afghans vulnerable to Taliban repression. That’s why we recommend a course correction involving redoubled efforts to support the Afghan security forces—particularly through airpower, which is immediately critical—as well as the vigorous implementation of U.S. promises of continued security, economic, humanitarian, and diplomatic support,” they said, urging that the U.S. government “must act swiftly and resolutely in Afghanistan and in mustering global support.”
Rajiv Dogra, a former Indian diplomat and the author of “Durand’s Curse,” a best-selling and critically acclaimed book about the division of Afghanistan by the British empire, told the Epoch Times over the phone that no situation in the world is so bad that it can’t be retrieved. But the principal thing is having the political will.
“America for the past two years has announced from rooftops that it’s withdrawing and it is leaving the Afghans to their destiny. This is a wrong approach, a wrong policy, and a wrong strategy,” said Dogra terming this as a defeatist attitude that can still be changed. “But the change must start from the top.”
The five American former diplomats said the Taliban has broken promises, returned freed Taliban prisoners to the battlefield, and also flouted commitments made during the Doha Peace Process.
“Inconsistently failing to engage the Afghan government in good-faith negotiations, the Taliban has signaled that it is going for all-out victory. The terms the group seeks—control over the country’s police, military, and intelligence service, as well as the power to effectively remove and appoint the head of state and other top officials—amount to a demand for surrender,” they said adding that the Taliban want to restore a regime resembling the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan whereas regular polling in the last two decades suggests that the public doesn’t want to live under the Taliban.
Dogra said the U.S. President cannot be seen as a “quitter and must not be judged by history a failure.” There is still time for course correction, and he should give out a message to the world that America is not a loser, Dorga said. He termed this as the “main difference” needed in American policy towards Afghanistan today.
“President Biden has to acknowledge that his messaging is extremely negative not for his own sake but for the sake of the country that’s in need. America today is being considered a declining state strategically, a state which is being defeated by a bunch of fundamentalist tribals,” said Dogra, who was India’s ambassador to multiple countries.
The most important message that Biden at this stage should give is that the United States is withdrawing but it’s not leaving the Afghans to be “slaughtered by the Taliban,” he said.
He said a change in policy would also mean recalling the representative the United States chose for the Afghan peace process. Zalmay Khalilzad is widely disliked in Afghanistan and he should take responsibility for the failure of the process.
“He is perceived as soft on Taliban’s interests and by his actions non-resistant to Pakistan’s ISI’s [Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s leading intelligence agency] will rather than as the protector and promoter of American interests or the protector and promotor of Afghan people,” said.Dogra. Recalling Khalilzad would send a strong message that America is not there to be defeated, Dogra said. After all, America has pledged at the UN that it has a “Responsibility to Protect” people who face the threat of mass violence.
Recalling Khalilzad has been trending with the hashtag #RecallKhallilzad with 6417 tweets and unique user retweets between Aug. 7 and Aug. 11. The most viral tweets with the hashtag come from the Afghan State broadcasters RTA World and RTA Pashto, and the RTA presenter Diva Patang.
We call on @POTUS & @ABlinken to #RecallKhalilzad. Bcs of his deal with d #Taliban, people r killed, cities r burned & Taliban re-established ties with #AlQaeeda. He is the reason behind every Afghan killed. He failed YOU & US. #Khalilzad should spend his days at Senate hearings. pic.twitter.com/D29SVDJmB8
— Diva Patang (@DivaPatang) August 7, 2021
Jonathan Schroden, director of the Washington DC-based Center for Naval Analysis’ Countering Threats and Challenges Program, told The Epoch Times in a text message that the best thing the United States can do immediately is to ask the Taliban to stop.
“Pressure can be generated by getting the regional (and other critical) countries to speak with one voice to the Taliban and demand at least a reduction in violence on humanitarian grounds, if not a ceasefire. Whether or not the Taliban responds to pressure, it’s worth trying,” said Schroden.
Air Support Should Continue
The five diplomats said the United States should continue to provide air support to the Afghan forces and should reconsider ending this support by Aug. 31. Biden administration should also help establish an Afghan air force of the size and the structure that the Afghans need.
“After all, the slow development of the Afghan air force—though it is now performing well—is partly a US responsibility: While corruption and mismanagement plagued the Afghan side, the United States also wasted $549 million on shoddy cargo planes and lost a great deal of time by switching from rebuilt Russian helicopters to more complicated American Blackhawks,” they said.
The Biden administration should also sort out the contract maintenance issues that plague the Afghan Air Force, according to Schroden.
The five American diplomats said the United States created a system for the Afghan Air Force that was heavily dependent on support from foreign contractors. When the Biden administration decided to withdraw troops, it also decided to suddenly pull those contractors out of Afghanistan.
“Contract issues for the AAF are tricky because it requires the Afghan government to tender the contracts, companies finding it lucrative enough to bid on them, and individuals finding it lucrative enough to service them. All of that takes time. Meanwhile, the AAF can only get half or less of its aircraft in the air,” said Schroden.
The diplomats said the United States must help the Afghan Air Force urgently with training and maintenance and should appoint a senior Department of Defense official to oversee this assistance.
“The urgent work ahead must include adequate training and maintenance to keep the Afghan air force flying. Plans and timelines should be realistic and developed with NATO and other allied cooperation and funding. NATO should also renew its commitment to providing its own air support until the Afghan air force is fully built (or peace negotiations are successful). This will spread out the burden and risk,” they said.
Providing air support to the Afghan forces is however short-term tactical support to avoid defeat and it’s not a policy, said the five former diplomats.
“Nor is withdrawing U.S. and NATO forces without sufficient planning for what comes next. Supporting negotiations is helpful, but only talking about negotiating while the other side is winning militarily and pushing for surrender is futile,” they said adding that the Biden administration should prevent the defeat and the fall of the Afghan state until a “stalemate” can ensure sincere negotiations that have been missing till now.
“A deal that protects the broad spectrum of ethnic and tribal interests, including guarantees protecting the hard-fought gains of Afghan women, will only be possible through these kinds of talks. This is why negotiations should be constantly supported but not allowed to cripple military action, as was the case during the past year when the United States was largely on the defensive,” said the former diplomats.
Venus Upadhayaya
Reporter
Venus Upadhayaya reports on wide range of issues. Her area of expertise is in Indian and South Asian geopolitics. She has reported from the very volatile India-Pakistan border and has contributed to mainstream print media in India for about a decade. Community media, sustainable development, and leadership remain her key areas of interest.
Posted in 
Tags: 
