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Trump's "plan" for Afghanistan
By mickielynn on 2017-08-24 08:00:21
Though war is/old it has not/become wise A peace haiku by Alice Walker. [caption id="attachment_ 10226"
align="alignnone" width="600"]
U.S. President Donald Trump
greets military leaders before his speech on Afghanistan at the Fort Myer military base o on n August 21, 2017 in Arlington,
Virginia. Photo, Mark Wilson,Getty Images[/caption] On Monday night, President Trump gave a speech about his "plan" for
US engagement in Afghanistan. Since he gave very few details except that we would send more US troops {he didn't
mention a figure but the general consensus is that it would be 3, 900 and that he has already handed over responsibility to his
Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, to determine the number in consultation with other military about conditions on the
ground}. To give up on "nation building {which I consider giving up on improving conditions for the Afghan people or
worrying about their well being at all} To hunt down and kill "terrorists" and to "win." [caption id="attachment_ 10223"
align="alignnone" width="600"]
‘ A I Senior White House officials
say Trump has authorized the deployment of 3, 900 more troops to Afghanistan, Getty images[/caption] [caption
id="attachment_10224" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Number of Mier
Number of American troops
in Afghanistan since 9/11
100,000 rt
-_
90,000 _—.
80,000 _—
70,000 os
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000 :
10,000, A
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 Pot
July 2017 | SOURCE: Brookings Institute Ee) OO)
Timeline of US troops in
Afghanistan, July 2017, Source, Brookings Institute[/caption] To most people who care about the suffering and dying of our
troops and of the Afghan people over the almost 16 year US war this is a pretty alarming plan. It basically changes nothing
about the actions of the past two administrations. Learns nothing from the 4 decades of war in Afghanistan. Allows for a
continuing military engagement with greatly decreased restrictions on killing civilians. Surrenders all power and
responsibility to those military commanders on the ground to determine actions with no structured plan or stated goals, or
even definition of what it means to "win." [caption id="attachment_10228" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Civilian casualties (2009-2017)
42,000 __ BF Injuries
10,000 + -
: ‘ 7,469
ou i is = = = = = i) 5
2009 2010 201k ama 213 2014 2015) 2016) 2017
ayazeens Source: United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan ‘As of June 2017 Civilian Casualties in
Afghanistan continue to rise, UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, June 2017[/caption] In addition everyone, even
military leaders, agrees that there is no way to end this struggle by military means
ar em
TRUMP:
Sending
More Troops to
Pe; Afghanistan is
SIGN & SHARE OUR PETITION! No Solution:
WWW.CODEPINK.ORG/MORE_TROOPS
Without War said this week:
— an
As Stephen Miles of Win
... The war in Afghanistan goes back decades, long before American soldiers arrived. A lasting solution to nearly
four decades of conflict will take a robust peace process led by the Afghan people, including their neighbors,
and supported by committed American diplomacy. What has already proven to be ineffective is more American
troops and bombs. [...]
However there is an extreme lack of capacity right now for the US to engage in diplomacy even if motivated to do so.
Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, is currently engaged in the defunding of the State Department under the current budget
plans of the administration. In addition to that little detail there is currently no US ambassador in Kabul, and the office of
the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan has been eliminated. While researching this article there have been
many good sources. Some of them have come together in this article written by Jake Johnson, a staff writer for Common
Dreams. It's a pretty good summary of major points of discussion, with a series of annotated links .
Bowing to Endless War Advocates, Trump Vows More Bloodshed in Afghanistan Trump's "plan" for
America's longest war will almost certainly increase terrorism and cause civilian deaths to skyrocket, analysts
argued.
Here's another incisive article, by Alex Emmons of The Intercept, that really emphasizes the shortcomings of the basic
outline of Trump's plan. [caption id="attachment_ 10225" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Donald Trump has committed
the US to an open-ended conflict in Afghanistan Reuters{/caption] Even though the current government of Afghanistan
slavishly supports the plan that continues the trillions of dollars and the military support without challenging corruption and
neglect of development and humanitarian aid, Former President Hamid Karzai does not.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai wrote on Twitter that he "very strongly" opposed the new US
strategy, saying it was “against peace and the national interest of Afghanistan". He said: "The
strategy excludes bringing peace and prosperity to Afghanistan and is focused on more war and
rivalry in the region. [The] US must seek peace and stability in Afghanistan rather than extending
conflict and bloodshed in Afghanistan and the region."
Here are a few additional observations about how this plan and the President's remarks that introduced it can further damage
the possibilities for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan. First, some evidence exists that the greed factor in appropriating
Afghanistan's natural resources worth almost a trillion dollars in rare earth and metals may be one of the motivations for
prolonging this war. Given the corruption that already exists in Afghanistan and the failure of the government to care for its
people this could lead to further conflict. Second, although India currently has a positive bilateral relationship with
Afghanistan and has been funding important and needed development projects, Trump's remarks elevating the role of India,
pressuring it to do more, and making the relationship multilateral could lead to greater conflict between India and its arch
rival Pakistan instead of bringing them into a positive negotiating process. Third, Trump's threats to Pakistan to somehow
solve the problem of the Taliban and "stop giving them safe haven" may open the door to increased air strikes over Pakistan
and other military intrusions into that country. A nuclear armed nation. Fourth, with the plan to hunt down "terrorists"
civilians will be put at risk in two different but combined ways. More Afghan special troops will be trained in "night raids"
that very much threaten the lives and well being of civilians. As in previous hunts for terrorists, the CIA will increase its
involvement leading to increased drone strikes and to various tactics that will also threaten the lives of civilians. Since it's
the CIA there will be a lack of transparency about their behavior and thus a lack of accountability. We've seen this before in
Iraq and Afghanistan and there may even be a reversal of the Obama administration's ban on the use of torture. And since
there is no definition of what "winning" might mean the only way to avoid evaluating whether we have won is to keep
fighting an endless, deadly and thankless war. Finally I'd like to remind you of the people of Afghanistan who will go on
suffering amidst this administration's greed, ignorance and cruelty. One of the most amazing groups in Afghanistan are the
child, teen and young adult Afghan Peace Volunteers. In spite of their lives in a war torn country they continue to advocate
for peace and to care for each other and the many street children, homeless, hungry and addicted people. Here are a few
pictures from their blog, Our Journey to Smile. [caption id="attachment_10231" align="alignnone" width="450"]
; Pe Ra
Freedom from want, Our Journey to Smile, Afghan
Peace Volunteers[/caption] [caption id="attachment_ 10232" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Kabul-Peace-Garden with
Afghan Peace Volunteers in 2014, from their blog posts[/caption] [caption id="attachment_ 10230" align="alignnone"
i
width="600" = Ae, ie “ PSS The Afghan
Peace Volunteers gathered for the Eid-e- Fitr event, where they collected Eid gifts for Yemenis, July, 2017[/caption]
Remember that ultimately it's Congress that can fund or not fund this endless war. Congress that can respond to and act on
the will of the people of the United States.
