Over the years, we have seen many protests against wars. From Vietnam to Iraq, we have protested because we either see no point in war, the war has been waged under the wrong pretenses, or there is no more point to our involvement; the exercise has become futile. The latter reason is why I believe it is time to get out of Afghanistan.
Sometimes wars must be fought. Maybe to protect our country from imminent threat, sometimes to stand with an ally for the larger cause of freedom. But with any war, there must after a while be a light at the end of the tunnel. There must be a time where we truly can see a ‘mission accomplished’ on the horizon and what we did in involving ourselves in the conflict has been for good. Afghanistan has become a mess and now the very Afghans the Australian forces are trying to train, in order to practically assist them to protect and defend their nation, are turning on us. It is not a suicide bomber. It is not a Taliban fighter. It is the Afghan National Army itself.
Three of our soldiers are now dead because a ‘rogue’ Afghan soldier killed them in cold blood. Yesterday, three more have been wounded by another ‘rogue’ soldier. The Afghans are biting the hand that is trying to feed them. We are on their side and this is the reward we get. There could be a number of reasons for this. One, these ‘rogue’ soldiers are Taliban in disguise, or two, they are simply loose cannons that are so unpredictable that they could snap at any moment. Either way, it is very clear that the true tribal nature of the Afghan people is shining through and no matter what we do and how long we stay there, things will not change and the sand will be constantly shifting. The Afghans do not like President Hamid Karzai and one day, we will see that he too has been killed by one of his own. To try and unify Afghanistan is a futile exercise and we would be wise to let them be and sort it our for themselves.
Unfortunately, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard seems to have this mentality that we should stand behind Afghanistan all the way. Very reminiscent of former Prime Minister Harold Holt when he declared back in the 1960′s, ‘All the way with LBJ’. There is this ridiculous notion that there is going to be something in this alliance for us and when the mission is ‘accomplished’, Australia will be there hand in hand with its girlfriend, the United States, and we will stand proud and say ‘we never let you down, good friend’.
We came to Afghanistan and we have found some tremendous days of sorrow, but we have also found a great friendship,” she said.“We do intend to stay engaged here with you, in a spirit of friendship, for the long term.” (Julia Gillard Nov. 2011)
But how long does it take to complete a mission? It has been 10 years already. 10 years! Even after all this time, they are ‘making gains’, but nothing substantial. The Afghan National Army is still in its fledgling stage. After these last two incidents, one would have to say that the Afghan Army is barely able to be a stable and cohesive force and one would have to wonder how many other ‘rogues’ there are.
Why does Australia, like the United States, believe that it is our responsibility to put these struggling nations on the right track? I believe it has nothing to do with selflessness and a desire to ‘help, assist and guide’. It is because the resources of these countries are rich. Why do you think everyone is jumping at the chance to embrace Burma again? We hear one sniff that they are ‘opening the doors to reform’ and we are already suggesting lifting sanctions. The Arab Spring meant these pesky dictators like Mubarek and Gadaffi are out of the way. While the argy bargy of leadership is happening, the countries who ‘assisted’ them with their ‘liberation’ are the first ones there with a warm handshake and gestures of goodwill…..plus contracts for new deals to be made. To the UK and France who orchestrated the liberation of Libya, to the United States and Australia who stand toe to toe with their great friend Afghanistan, none of us are fooled.
Stop the bullshit, stop trying to turn other countries into pathetic copies of your own and leave these people to sort out their issues like they have been sorting them out for years. This is a part of the world that has a totally different understanding of leadership and governance. It also has a completely different understanding of how its citizens are treated, especially women. To say we are going to ever really change that, is to fool ourselves. The Arab Spring taught us that the citizens of those countries will rise up when they have had enough. They may fail the first, second and even third time, but they will prevail in the end. Our job is to keep our nose out of their affairs.
I leave the last word to Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet leader, who has some experience in dealing with Afghanistan. He pulled Russian troops out of there in the late 1980′s after a decade of stalemate. A decade you say? Now doesn’t that sound familiar.
“There is no prospect of a military solution. The nation is too fragmented among clans, dooming even a troop surge to failure, he says. “They should be preparing the ground for withdrawal rather than additional troops.”
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November 9, 2011
It’s time to leave…and quickly!
Posted by damob under Social commentaryLeave a Comment
Over the years, we have seen many protests against wars. From Vietnam to Iraq, we have protested because we either see no point in war, the war has been waged under the wrong pretenses, or there is no more point to our involvement; the exercise has become futile. The latter reason is why I believe it is time to get out of Afghanistan.
Sometimes wars must be fought. Maybe to protect our country from imminent threat, sometimes to stand with an ally for the larger cause of freedom. But with any war, there must after a while be a light at the end of the tunnel. There must be a time where we truly can see a ‘mission accomplished’ on the horizon and what we did in involving ourselves in the conflict has been for good. Afghanistan has become a mess and now the very Afghans the Australian forces are trying to train, in order to practically assist them to protect and defend their nation, are turning on us. It is not a suicide bomber. It is not a Taliban fighter. It is the Afghan National Army itself.
Three of our soldiers are now dead because a ‘rogue’ Afghan soldier killed them in cold blood. Yesterday, three more have been wounded by another ‘rogue’ soldier. The Afghans are biting the hand that is trying to feed them. We are on their side and this is the reward we get. There could be a number of reasons for this. One, these ‘rogue’ soldiers are Taliban in disguise, or two, they are simply loose cannons that are so unpredictable that they could snap at any moment. Either way, it is very clear that the true tribal nature of the Afghan people is shining through and no matter what we do and how long we stay there, things will not change and the sand will be constantly shifting. The Afghans do not like President Hamid Karzai and one day, we will see that he too has been killed by one of his own. To try and unify Afghanistan is a futile exercise and we would be wise to let them be and sort it our for themselves.
Unfortunately, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard seems to have this mentality that we should stand behind Afghanistan all the way. Very reminiscent of former Prime Minister Harold Holt when he declared back in the 1960′s, ‘All the way with LBJ’. There is this ridiculous notion that there is going to be something in this alliance for us and when the mission is ‘accomplished’, Australia will be there hand in hand with its girlfriend, the United States, and we will stand proud and say ‘we never let you down, good friend’.
But how long does it take to complete a mission? It has been 10 years already. 10 years! Even after all this time, they are ‘making gains’, but nothing substantial. The Afghan National Army is still in its fledgling stage. After these last two incidents, one would have to say that the Afghan Army is barely able to be a stable and cohesive force and one would have to wonder how many other ‘rogues’ there are.
Why does Australia, like the United States, believe that it is our responsibility to put these struggling nations on the right track? I believe it has nothing to do with selflessness and a desire to ‘help, assist and guide’. It is because the resources of these countries are rich. Why do you think everyone is jumping at the chance to embrace Burma again? We hear one sniff that they are ‘opening the doors to reform’ and we are already suggesting lifting sanctions. The Arab Spring meant these pesky dictators like Mubarek and Gadaffi are out of the way. While the argy bargy of leadership is happening, the countries who ‘assisted’ them with their ‘liberation’ are the first ones there with a warm handshake and gestures of goodwill…..plus contracts for new deals to be made. To the UK and France who orchestrated the liberation of Libya, to the United States and Australia who stand toe to toe with their great friend Afghanistan, none of us are fooled.
Stop the bullshit, stop trying to turn other countries into pathetic copies of your own and leave these people to sort out their issues like they have been sorting them out for years. This is a part of the world that has a totally different understanding of leadership and governance. It also has a completely different understanding of how its citizens are treated, especially women. To say we are going to ever really change that, is to fool ourselves. The Arab Spring taught us that the citizens of those countries will rise up when they have had enough. They may fail the first, second and even third time, but they will prevail in the end. Our job is to keep our nose out of their affairs.
I leave the last word to Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet leader, who has some experience in dealing with Afghanistan. He pulled Russian troops out of there in the late 1980′s after a decade of stalemate. A decade you say? Now doesn’t that sound familiar.
Enjoy your day
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