The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 72/No. 42      October 27, 2008

 
U.S. gov’t seeks more
allies inside Afghanistan
(front page)
 
BY DOUG NELSON  
As Washington intensifies its war effort with more troops in Afghanistan and the border region with Pakistan, U.S. generals responsible for the imperialist occupation are pursuing opportunities to forge a broader alliance against al-Qaeda, including within the Taliban. Although U.S.-led NATO forces in Afghanistan have sustained increasing casualties, these have been much higher for Taliban and other antigovernment forces.

According to press reports, more than 170 Taliban were killed in three battles during the last week alone.

By comparison, about 1,000 U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan have been killed since the war began in 2001. Almost half of these fatalities occurred since January 2007.

The U.S. military has stepped up its use of air strikes from aerial drones and fighter jets against the Taliban on both sides of the Pakistan/Afghanistan border.

Taliban attacks have increased 40 percent this year. U.S., NATO, and Afghan officials attribute this to growing instability in Pakistan and an influx of Islamist militia that have fled Iraq.

Civilian deaths have also risen. According to UN figures, 1,455 civilians were killed by both sides in the first eight months of 2008, compared to 1,500 in all of 2007. The United Nations attributes slightly more than half of these deaths to the Taliban, which has carried out 142 summary executions so far this year.

According to Afghan government and UN reports, U.S. strikes August 22 killed about 90 civilians, including 60 children. Washington initially claimed there were no more than seven civilian deaths but revised the figure to 33 on October 8 when an aerial photo was released showing more than 30 dead bodies.

Total U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan currently number between 62,000 and 64,000. Washington is in the process of sending an army brigade of 5,000, and 3,500 marines by early 2009, according to AP. General David McKiernan, top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has requested as many as 15,000 more troops in addition.

Both Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his Republican rival John McCain call for increased troops in Afghanistan.

Applying their experience from Iraq, top U.S. military commanders are now discussing political tactics to augment their military offensive and deal with growing instability in the region. This includes the possibility of negotiating with sections of the Taliban and forces allied with it.

“There has been very, very tough fighting this year, and it will be tougher next year unless we adjust,” Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters October 9. Gen. McKiernan made similar statements a week earlier.

Some aspects of this course were described in the October 9 editions of the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. The articles cited parts of a draft National Intelligence Estimate scheduled to be released after the November elections. The report’s assessment is that the Afghan central government is weakening.  
 
Lessons from Iraq
Gen. David Petraeus, incoming commander of the U.S. Central Command, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates both said they are open to “reconciliation” at some point with the Taliban and other antigovernment forces. Gates underscored there would be no talks with forces linked to al-Qaeda.

At a meeting of the Heritage Foundation October 8, Petraeus said that in Iraq U.S. military officials sat down “with some of those that were shooting at us” and identified those “who might be reconcilable.” Washington worked closely with London in this effort, he explained, with the implication the two powers would likely do the same in Afghanistan.

Petraeus also spoke favorably about a late September meeting backed by the United Kingdom and hosted by King Abdullah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The meeting included Abdullah, two Afghan government officials, 11 representatives of the Taliban, and a representative of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan (HIA).

The HIA claimed responsibility, along with the Taliban, for an April 27 attempt to assassinate Afghan president Hamid Karzai. The Afghan government began its efforts to negotiate with Hekmatyar at least as far back as September 2007, including overtures to him about possibly joining the government.

The Mecca talks were part of attempts by Karzai’s government to negotiate peace with Mullah Mohammed Omar, former head of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, in exchange for his return to Afghanistan and, presumably, a share of power in the country. Wakil Ahmed Muttawkil, a former official of the Taliban, said the group could cut ties with al-Qaeda as part of a peace agreement with Kabul.

Around the same time Sherard Cowper-Coles, British ambassador in Afghanistan, was quoted in the French press saying an “acceptable dictator” would be the best possible outcome in Afghanistan.

Up to now the U.S. strategy has been centered around a stepped-up military offensive against al-Qaeda and the Taliban forces in Afghan villages. The increased killing of civilians as a result of that course has fueled popular hatred for the occupation and revenge. Coalition forces “are not going to be able to kill our way to victory,” Admiral Mullen said in explaining the new strategy.
 
 
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