Syed Saleem Shahzad reports:
Richard Holbrooke, the United States special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan who died on Monday aged 69, had come to the realization that the nine-year war in Afghanistan had to come to an end.
Stopping the war will not be an easy matter. The situation on the ground is not so simple.
For instance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) claims success against the Taliban in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, but what has happened is that al-Qaeda-affiliated groups have stepped into the vacuum and they will continue the battle.
Similarly, Pakistan claims success in its tribal areas, but a more defiant and more ideologically motivated group has emerged to take ownership of the war.
Wali Mohammad, the brother of slain Taliban commander Nek Mohammad (see The legacy of Nek Mohammed Asia Times Online, July 2004), has taken over command of militants in South Waziristan.
Last week, army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kiani, accompanied by other top brass and members of the media, traveled to South Waziristan to showcase the military’s “victory” against militants. They were greeted by four missiles. No one was injured in the attack, but the message is clear – the militants are back.
AS with Bush in 2000, having supported Obama heart and soul in 2008, I find myself impatient for the day Obama leaves the White House to ANY OTHER PRESIDENT. He has proven to be a superficial politico incapable of making strategic decision…that’s what we pay him for. Instead, he resorted to self imaging through hollow speeches devoid of any substance one could rely on. It looks like Obama=BushII.
So, here we are with a Commander and Chief afraid to make strategic decisions bowing to incompetent tactician generals led by a retired general on corporate payroll, Gen Keane whose intellect is that of a punch-drunk boxer.
Any other president will just give more of the same. It is not about individual personality or politics, rather it is the structural role of the P.O.T.U.S. plays that shapes her/his actions in that capacity. If we want a different outcome from presidential decisions, we need to force his hand and apply pressure. Without any large scale resistance or struggle we can expect a continuation of the imperial policies, whether its Bush or Obama in the White House makes little difference.