Posts Tagged ‘Afghanistan’
Time to make India’s Afghanistan Policy Relevant for the Endgame
India’s Afghanistan policy is a classic case displaying the pros and cons of soft power approach in international relations. Soft power is fruitful as a continuum of the smart power strategy where hard power is purposefully used. Soft power is helpful in creating space for and sustaining hard power options. A strategy that rests only on soft power resources to achieve national interests is flawed.
ISI and Afghan Insurgency: Implications for India-Pakistan Relations
Matt Waldman in a recently released Paper, “The Sun is in the Sky: The relationship between Pakistan’s ISI and Afghan Insurgents”, explores the extent of the ISI’s links and support to the problem of Afghan insurgency. Though Matt accepts that hosts of endogenous factors responsible for the emergence and sustenance of the Taliban, his interviews with insurgent field commanders in and around Kabul and Kandhar provide him with evidence to claim that the ISI orchestrates, sustains and strongly influences the movement. The research concentrates on two principal groups: the core Taliban movement lead by Mullah Omar and the Haqqani network, led by Jalaluddin Haqqani. The Paper provides elaborate details of how the strategy, funding and operations of the two groups are dominated by ISI’s priorities and interests.In Matt’s analysis Pakistan’s support for the afghan insurgency can be checked by ensuring better relations between India and Pakistan.
President Obama’s Af-Pak Public Outreach
Rarely have the messages delivered by U.S. Presidents reached the non-English speaking audience in its original form. Op-eds in local newspapers, new-feeds in primary national languages and reactions of domestic political leadership are the most common sources for the non-English populace of developing countries to access any speech delivered by the U.S. President. Such sources often tend to be opinionated and do not allow the local population to comprehend the real message.
The Obama Administration has sought to enlarge its public outreach by connecting to the common people without via medium of their governments. Given the widespread public distrust of national leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama Administration is spreading word about the President’s approach to the region in local language and through widely accessible mediums. Following President Obama’s West Point Speech last week (transcripts are available in Urdu, Dari, Pashtu and Arabic), Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has recorded two video messages for the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Secretary Clinton has directly addressed the people of the two countries in these messages with the objective of explaining President Obama’s future strategy in the region. The video message is available for downloads on the internet and mobile phones. Click to continue…
The ‘Democracy of Warlords’ in Afghanistan
As Afghanistan Presidential elections approach the promise of change, stability and inclusive democracy have gained momentum across the country. There is little doubt that the polls, scheduled for August 20, will be hailed as a victory for the Afghan people in the Western media. Before explaining how things might change after the elections it is important to assess the current state of governance in the country. The U.S. has been blaming President Hamid Karzai for rampant corruption while President Karzai has expressed concern with regard to the role (and to some degree interference) of the NATO forces in the country. In the midst of these allegations and counter allegations there is one aspect of Afghanistan’s emerging political structure which has been overlooked: the role of warlords in Afghanistan’s emerging democracy.
{Picture Courtesy: Press for Conversion!}
Explosive Remnants of War provide Employment Opportunities for Afghans
Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. Mines were first used in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation (1979-1989) and have led to the death of over 70,000 Afghans in the past two decades. 90% of these mines are spread across arable land, grazing grounds and irrigation systems. The existence of these mines, a large part of which are unexploded devices, are a threat to the IDPs who are returning home and also negatively impact the agricultural output of Afghanistan. Since October 2001, American warplanes have dropped thousands of bombs on Taliban front lines, including “cluster bombs,” in which nearly 10 percent of the scattered bomblets have not exploded. The unexploded bomblets are an additional risk to the lives of the common people. In 2008 landmines and other Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) killed or injured over 445 Afghans, an average of 37 per month. Thanks to NGO efforts the ERWs have now turned into a means of livelihood for many Afghan men. OMAR (Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation) has initiated a community based demining program in the Kunar district of Afghanistan. Click to continue…
International Forces in Afghanistan: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Want to know what’s really happening in Afghanistan? Try visiting two websites: Rethink Afghanistan and ISAF. The information on both sites will leave you confused.
Rethink Afghanistan was launched as a ground-breaking online video series for opposing military escalation in Afghanistan. From testimonials of veterans of the Afghanistan Operation to commentaries of experts, the site uses all possible means to dissuade the U.S. Congress from continuing military operations in Afghanistan.
The ISFA site is the official site of Coalition Forces operating in Afghanistan. From proving flood relief to people of the Faryab province to assisting in the installation of WiMax, the international forces are involved in a vast array of humanitarian and social development efforts.
Neither can be fully discredited nor completely accepted. So where lies the truth? Perhaps this is what is called the relativity of truth!
After reviewing the two sites and these videos I let go of the political compulsion to either support or criticize the stationing and operations of international forces in Afghanistan. I guess proximity breeds bias and an accurate perspective will evolve only with time.
Beyond the Media Limelight an Afghan Woman Fights for Justice
At a time when international media attention was focused on the incident of a young girl being flogged by the extremists in Pakistan and protests were underway against a law regulating rights of Afghan Shiite Women, a young Afghan girl was battling for justice. Her battle is not yet over and surprisingly she is pleading her case in South Asia’s most vibrant democracy – India. Will Sabra Ahmadzai get justice?
Pakistan Beyond ‘AFPAK’
The Obama Administration before taking office was well aware that Pakistan would be the most compelling threat for the U.S, foreign policy in the coming days. President Obama’s AFPAK strategy was presented as an attempt to restructure America’s approach in dealing with the Al-qaeda- Taliban challenge. In terms of strategy and approach President Obama’s Pakistan policy appears sound, but it needs to be realized that the nature and degree of crisis confronting Pakistan is yet to be fully grasped. The greatest test for the Obama Presidency will not be to deal with the Taliban threat but to fully comprehend the Pakistan challenge. Click to continue…
President Obama’s Diplomatic Outreach
The U.S. has for long sought to define and relate to its allies in unambiguous terms. President Bush epitomized this approach in his famous ‘either with us or against us’ speech and through his policy of pre-emption. The Obama Presidency appears to have opened with the objective of de-categorization of countries in U.S. foreign policy. President Obama is challenging the traditional tags for casting friends, enemies, competitors or facilitators while discarding the rigid criteria of ‘either with us or against us’. President Obama’s foreign policy approach puts Lord Palmerstone’s contention into action: “We have no permanent allies, we have no permanent enemies, we have only permanent interests.” This change of policy goes beyond a simple transition from Republican to Democratic administrations; it involves a transformation of global relations. Click to continue…
Women’s Rights in Afghanistan and Pakistan - Genuine Concerns or Political Considerations
The international opposition to a recent law in Afghanistan undermining the women’s rights is a welcome move. The new sharia family law, signed by Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on March 31, deals with issues of marriage, divorce, inheritance and sexual relations. Most of the provisions have put women in a disadvantage position, even allowing what the Western Human Rights observes refer to as marital rape. Though President Karzai has agreed to review the law, the international community continues to target the Afghan government with reintroducing laws reminiscent of the Taliban regime. The law was also criticized by the leaders attending the NATO Summit in early April. The specifics of the law apart, criticism is being focused on the possible use of the law as a vote gathering strategy by President Karzai. Many observers view President Karzai’s move as the appeasement of the fundamentalist and Shi’ite factions ahead of the Presidential elections in August.
But before this surge of international protest against President Karzai’s government is accepted a few revelations are important. Click to continue…