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Why is America Failing in Afghanistan?

- DR. Abdul-Qayum Mohmand

Analysis of “CIA World Factbook” (1981-2012): Dimensions of anti-Pashtun Conspirac

Afghan Fury at Planned Pakistan Pact
What Happens When the U.S. Leaves Afghanistan?
Trying to leave Afghanistan proves to be as troublesome as being there: A Closer Look
Afghanistan: “It’s Just Damage Limitation Now”
Zero Dark Thirty Review-Analysis; Eleven Instances of Disinformation
Why is America Failing in Afghanistan?
 
 
 
US forces in Afghanistan nearly destroyed vital airfield
We Are Those Two Afghan Children, Killed by NATO While Tending Their Cattle
Former Islamist Warlord Vies for Afghan Presidency
Pakistan releases top Afghan Taliban prisoner in effort to boost peace process
Losing the War in Afghanistan
Obama’s troop increase for Afghan war was misdirected
Afghan security vacuum feared along "gateway to Kabul"
Objections to U.S. Troops Intensify in Afghanistan
The Great Afghan corruption scam
War zone killing: Vets feel 'alone' in their guilt
Was Osama for Real? And Was He Killed in 2001?
Afghanistan withdrawal: The risks of retreat
The Real Reason the US Invaded Afghanistan
The Definition of a Quagmire
Huge Uncertainty' in Afghanistan
Controversial ID Cards Expose Ethnic Divisions In Afghanistan
Afghanistan: The Final Curtain Call for NATO?
Afghanistan After 9/11: A Mission Unaccomplished
Why Should Taliban and Other Insurgents Refrain from Negotiation With the US & NATO? By: Dr Mohammed Daud Miraki, MA, MA, Ph

Exclusive: Karzai family looks to extend boss rule in Afghanistan.

Intrigue in Karzai Family as an Afghan Era Closes
For Afghans, Two Outrages, Two Different Reactions
Double blow to west’s Afghan strategy
Does the Taliban need a diplomatic voice?
Afghanistan: Lessons in War and Peace-building for US
Afghan women opposed by former allies
Q+A - Haqqani: From White House guest to staunch U.S. enemy
Haqqanis: Growth of a militant network -BBC
Afghanistan shelves plans for ambassador accused of fraud
Afghan nominated as ambassador to Britain was accused in US of fraud
U.S. deal with Taliban breaks down
The Loneliness of the Afghan President: Karzai on His Own

NATO's Third Alternative in Afghanistan

On the Road: Interview with Commander Abdul Haq:- The Tragedy of Abdul Haq
When the Lion Roared: How Abdul Haq Almost Saved Afghanistan
AFGHAN WARRIOR: THE LIFE & DEATH OF ABDUL HAQ
Pakistan’s ISI: Undermining Afghan self-determination since 1948
Mineral Wealth of Afghanistan, Military Occupation, Corruption and the Rights of the Afghan People
M. Siddieq Noorzoy
Why Isn’t the UN Investigating and Prosecuting the U.S. and NATO for War Crimes Committed in Afghanistan?
Corruption and Warlordism:
Abdul Basir Stanikzai
In Afghanistan, U.S. contracts aren’t crystal balls, but they come close
The great Afghan carve-up
Anatomy of an Afghan war tragedy
Terry Jones Actually Burns a Qur’an and No One Notices
Q+A-Are Afghan forces ready to take over security?
Guantánamo Bay files rewrite the story of Osama bin Laden's Tora Bora escape
Winning Afghan hearts, minds with explosives
Afghanistan’s Mercenaries
KABUL’S HORIZONS
Who is winning Afghanistan war? U.S. officials increasingly disagree
Afghanistan: The Trouble With The Transition
From the Archives: In Quest of a ‘Greater Tajikistan’
The 1980s mujahideen, the Taliban and the shifting idea of jihad
Afghanistan's Karzai complains about interference
Karzai, US ambassador at odds over private security

Karzai Tells Washington Post U.S. Should Reduce Afghan Operation Intensity

Excerpts from Afghan President Hamid Karzai's interview with The Washington Post
What the Afghans Want
New US approach to Afghanistan insurgency: Vindication for Pakistan?
Putting Some Fight Into Our Friends
Afghans 'abused at secret prison
Why We Won’t Leave Afghanistan or Iraq
Indo-Pakistan proxy war heats up in Afghanistan
Canada’s elite commandos and the invasion of Afghanistan
U.S. retreat from Afghan valley marks recognition of blunder
Five myths about the war in Afghanistan
Marine who resigned over ‘conscience’ speaks at MU
The Afghan media may have grown since Taliban rule ended, but not so press freedoms
Mystery holes and angry ants: another Afghan day
Kabul Bank's Sherkhan Farnood feeds crony capitalism in Afghanistan
Marjah War
Operation Moshtarak: Which way the war in Afghanistan?
Q&A: Why Marjah, why now?
In Jalalabad, hope is fading
Seeking reconciliation, US units meet remote Afghanistan tribes
Once Again, Get the Hell Out! "Ending the War in Afghanistan"
Blackwater Kept a Prostitute on the Payroll in Afghanistan; Fraudulently Billed American Tax Payers
Wild West Motif Lightens US Mood at Afghan Bas
In southern Afghanistan, even the small gains get noticed
 Afghanistan war: US tries to undercut Taliban at tribal level
 Soviet lessons from Afghanistan
Are actions of 'super-tribe' an Afghan tipping point
Taliban: Terrorist or not? Not always easy to say
Q&A: Who else could help in Afghanistan?
Vietnam Replay on Afghan 'Defectors'
Washington's Refusal to Talk about Drone Strikes in Pakistan Meets Growing Opposition
Afghanistan summit: Why is the US backing talks with the Taliban?
Taliban's leadership council runs Afghan war from Pakistan
Why buy the Taliban?
2 Afghanistan conferences: No solutions
An Alternative to Endless War - Negotiating an Afghan Agreement?
Do the Taliban represent the Pashtuns?
Afghanistan asks ex-presidential contender to tackle corruption

Tehran Sets Conditions For Attending London Conference On Afghanista

Pakistan says reaches out to Afghan Taliban
Taking It to the Taliban
The Afghan Taliban's top leaders
How significant is Mullah Baradar's arrest?
Secret Joint Raid Captures Taliban’s Top Commander
What's the Quetta Shura Taliban and why does it matter?
What's behind latest Taliban attack on Kabul? See Images of the Attack By WSJ

Pakistan Version of Islam and Taliban ?????
Lahore fashion week takes on Talibanization in Pakistan

Loyalties of Those Killed in Afghan Raid Remain Unclear

After Attack, Afghans Question Motives or See Conspiracies
Gates: Taliban part of Afghan ‘political fabric’

IG: Afghan power-plant project ill-conceived, mismanaged

Taliban intensifies Afghan PR campaign

Taliban Overhaul Their Image in Bid to Win Allies
Karzai plans to woo Taliban with 'land, work and pensions'
Peace scheme mooted for Taliban
Bombs and baksheesh
But By All Means, Continue the Happy Talk on the Afghanistan War
Karzai Closing in on Taliban Reconciliation Plan
Last Exit Kabul
How To Get Out Without Forsaking Afghanistan's Stability
Afghan Recovery Report: Taleban Buying Guns From Former Warlords

'Jesus Guns': Two More Countries Rethink Using Weapons with Secret Bible References

Gun bible quotes 'inappropriate'
Text of Joint declaration of Afghanistan-Iran-Pakistan trilateral meeting
Garmsir Protest Shows Taleban Reach
Rugged North Waziristan harbors US enemies
The Arrogance of Empire, Detailed ( The Untold Story of Afghanistan )
Appointment of Afghan counter narcotics chief dismays British officials
In Afghanistan attack, CIA fell victim to series of miscalculations about informant
Rebuilding Afghanistan: Will government take hold in this post-Taliban town?
Rare bird discovered in Afghan mountains
Blackwater, now called Xe, in running for work in Afghanistan despite legal woes
How Soviet troops stormed Kabul palace
Afghan children 'die in fighting'
Afghanistan war: Russian vets look back on their experience
U.N. Officials Say American Offered Plan to Replace Karzai 
Learning From the Soviets
U.S. faults Afghan corruption body's independence
Intensify fight against corruption, says Afghan meeting
Afghan ministers cleared of charges
Drone aircraft in a stepped-up war in Afghanistan and Pakistan
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Kissinger's fantasy is Obama's realit
Taliban shadow officials offer concrete alternative
Talking with the Taliban
20. Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart
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US pours millions into anti-Taliban militias in Afghanistan
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Afghanistan plans court for corrupt ministers
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New U.S. Afghan prison unveiled, rights groups wary
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Patrick Witty & Tyler Hicks
The New York Times


Afghanistan Cross Road CNN


The last frontier


Bruce Richardson
 

Articles

CIA: Buying peace in Afghanistan?

With Bags of Cash, C.I.A. Seeks Influence in Afghanistan
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What the CIA’s cash has bought for Afghanistan

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Afghanistan Past & Present
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Karzai opponents hope to beat him in second round
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Karzai’s gimmick
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$2,000 for a dead Afghan Child, $100,000 for Any American Who Died Killing it
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The Irresistible Illusion
Earn our trust or go, Afghans tell GIs
Running Out Of Options, Afghans Pay For an Exit

We've lost sight of our goal in Afghanistan

The strategy is sound – but success is not assured
Stakes High in Afghanistan Ahead of August Elections
$2,000 for a dead Afghan Child, $100,000 for Any American Who Died Killing it
Ex-detainees allege Bagram abuse
Petraeus Is a Failure -- Why Do We Pretend He's Been a Success?
Fierce Battles and High Casualties on the Frontlines of Afghanistan
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Outside View: Four revolutions
Pakistan's Plans for New Fight Stir Concern
France: liberty, equality, and fraternity – but no burqas
 

 

 

 

 

Echoes of Vietnam

Even the Coalition commanders in Afghanistan wonder if they can win the war
Will history repeat itself in Afghanistan?

British military intervention in Afghanistan has a chequered history, making it easy to conclude that British forces will fail again


 


When the Lion Roared: How Abdul Haq Almost Saved Afghanistan
Source: Huffington Post By: Michael Hughes  

Foreign Policy Strategist, New World Strategies Coalition



Although for one to suggest the U.S. had any alternatives to leveling Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11 is to invite ridicule, legendary Afghan resistance commander Abdul Haq had, in fact, an indigenous remedy for overthrowing the Taliban, rounding up al Qaeda and establishing a legitimate government in Kabul.
However, according to Lucy Morgan Edwards in her new book, The Afghan Solution: the Inside Story of Abdul Haq, the CIA and how Western Hubris Lost Afghanistan, the U.S. chose to force regime change from without while marginalizing Haq, who still valiantly tried to activate his plan on October 26, 2001 but was assassinated by the Taliban (although local sources claim his executioners were tipped off by certain foreign intelligence agencies). A decade later, it has become quite clear why Haq's solution was -- and still is -- the only solution.
Edwards' perspective is shaped by her experience living in Afghanistan for the better part of six years as an aid worker during the height of the Taliban regime, an election monitor, a political adviser to the EU Ambassador in Kabul and as a freelance journalist. Some of the most captivating scenes in her book come from the months she spent living in Eastern Afghanistan with Abdul Haq's well-respected family -- the Arsalas -- a khan khel (chief clan) within the Ahmadzai tribe of the Ghilzai Pashtuns. There she receives a real world education on Afghanistan's resilient tribal structure, which the Western alliance has tried to replace with "modern" governing models.
Edwards sets out to understand why the U.S. would abandon such a pro-Western leader like Haq -- a brilliant military strategist whose heroics played a large part in defeating the Soviets in the 1980s. A moderate Muslim, Haq despised Islamic extremism and, above all, he was a nationalist whose popularity uniquely transcended the country's ethnic, tribal and sectarian divisions.

Haq was praised by major political figures such as Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Reagan national security adviser Robert McFarlane and former U.S. Ambassador Peter Tomsen actively supported Haq's initiative, both believing he was the only one who could unite the country.

Haq's "internal" solution would operate under the auspices of King Zahir Shah, who oversaw a 40-year reign of peace. Haq knew the symbolic power of the monarchy could unify the nation and restore Afghanistan's delicate ethnic and tribal balance. A legitimate sovereignty would then be created by leveraging a sacred centuries-old mechanism -- a gathering of tribal elders called the Loya Jirga, decisions from which are considered the highest manifestation of the people's will.
A pivotal moment of the investigation arises in fall 2003 when Edwards meets up with Sir John Gunston, a former British officer with an encyclopedic knowledge of Afghanistan who embedded with the mujahideen as a photojournalist during the 1980s. Although a shadowy figure with MI6 connections, he was undoubtedly committed to Haq and his vision.
It can't be overemphasized how immensely unpopular the Taliban had become by 2001 -- not only among the local populace but within the Taliban's very command structure. Haq well understood the key to ousting the Taliban was to undermine their central leadership, which he always stressed was a very small and closed elite. Hence, especially after September 11th, Haq calculated that Mullah Omar and his ruling cabal were ripe for implosion.

Haq had struck deals with moderate elements at the highest levels of the Taliban military and government, many of whom he commanded during the Soviet jihad. After 9/11 the Taliban's Eastern Corps Commander, three divisional commanders in Kabul and three others in Hezarac, Gardez and Ghazni all agreed to turn over their entire units upon Haq's command.
At this point Edwards seems to experience an epiphany of sorts, realizing how close Haq really was to decapitating the Taliban overnight, and with little bloodshed. It's hard not to be gripped by this scene, as Edwards writes:
My eyes widened as Gunston went on: "Do you understand? He'd broken the back of the Taliban. Just look at the map!" It was true. The places he'd mentioned -- Ghazni, Gardez and Hezarac -- were all former Taliban strongholds, lying in an arc throughout the southern part of the country.

Although Haq was on the verge of breaking the key vertebrae of the Taliban movement, he knew a U.S. bombardment would foil his entire strategy. The Afghans would unite against any invader, despite their differences, as they have for centuries. To understand why, Gunston tells Edwards one only has to remember Churchill's quote from the Malakand Campaign, 1898: "Khan assails Khan, valley against valley, but all unite against the foreigner".

Haq's tragic flaw was that he was his own man. He drew the CIA's ire when he denounced their outsourcing of Afghanistan's future to Pakistan's spy agency, the ISI, during the war against the Soviets. The ISI funneled millions in CIA cash to the most radical elements of the mujahideen while neglecting traditional tribal leaders like Haq. Pakistan did everything in its power to thwart the establishment of a nationalist moderate government in Afghanistan, preferring to install messianic extremists beholden to Islamabad. Sadly, the ISI was so threatened by Haq they killed his wife and children in 1999.
It didn't matter how remarkable Haq's plan was, because the Bush administration wasn't interested in anything short of "shock and awe". Edwards quotes UK parliamentarian Paddy Ashdown explaining to a colleague why Haq's peace plan had to be deferred: "... you must accept there has to be a fireworks display, a significant fireworks display, the Americans are demanding it and not until after the firework display can we continue the debate."

Haq tried desperately to convince Bush and Blair to postpone the attack by three weeks so he could execute his plan. They ignored him and did the complete opposite of what he recommended. The U.S. began bombing Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 while it paid off Northern Alliance warlords to rout the Taliban.
Edwards was a witness at the 2002 Loya Jirga stage-managed by U.S. diplomats who stiff-armed King Zahir Shah aside, installed preordained candidate Hamid Karzai as head of state while imposing a Western-style, over-centralized corrupt government upon the Afghans against their will.

Not to mention, high-level cabinet positions were gifted to Tajik war criminals, thereby alienating the Pashtun majority, upsetting the ethnic balance and fostering a culture of impunity. Since then, the Karzai government's avarice has fueled the Taliban resurgence while a peace process remains nonexistent.
Ahmad Shah Massoud, the northern Tajik commander, has been deified by the media as the primary hero of the jihad, dubbed the "Lion of Panjshir". Haq didn't achieve the same level of notoriety as Massoud, but he had earned such nicknames as the "Lion of Kabul" and the "Lion of Afghanistan" for his brave exploits. It's amazing to look back at Gunston's map and consider the magnitude of what Haq had accomplished. For, upon the Lion's roar, the Taliban would have collapsed.

James Ritchie, a wealthy options trader who spent part of his youth in Afghanistan and helped fund Haq's plan, near the end of the book tries to spell out for Edwards the significance of losing the Afghan Lion. Although sounding simplistic on the surface, Ritchie's words were nonetheless foreboding, seeming to hang in the air:
"Haq's death has removed the chance for peace in Afghanistan. Now there's no one left who could hold a candle to him."

 

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