Reality of Situation in Afghanistan

Fareed Zakaria writes an opinion piece in The Washington Post (February 29, 2012) about the "unsustainable aspect of America's Afghan policy". He states that while President Obama wants to withdraw troops he also wants to transition the fighting to an Afghan army and police while helping form a government in Kabul that can run the country and further develop its economy. Zakaria calls this a fantasy; points out factors that stand in the way of America's Afghan policy, and suggests that we recognize the reality of the Afghan situation.

He states that the Afghan government does not have the support of the Pashtuns - who comprise a good part (40%) of the population and many of whom support the Taliban. The national army, made up of Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks, does not have a proportionate representation of Pashtuns. For this reason support by the Pashtun areas of the country for the Afghan army is minimal. He believes that the Afghan economy will soon fail with the withdrawal of foreign troops and the excessive money spent in Afghanistan to support those troops. With a downsizing of the economy there will be no way to pay for a large Afghan army or police force. He sees no defeat of the Taliban in the near future as they have the support of the Pashtun population and sanctuaries in Pakistan.

In a concluding paragraph Zakaria suggests we accept reality and provides a way ahead:

"Accepting reality in Afghanistan would not leave America without options. Even with a smaller troop presence, we can pursue robust counterterrorism operations. We will be able to prevent the Taliban from again taking over the country. The north and east — populated by Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras — will stay staunchly opposed to the Taliban. We should support those groups and, more crucially, ally with the neighboring countries that support them. The natural, and historic, allies of the Northern Alliance are India, Iran and Russia; they have permanent interests that will keep them involved in the region. We should try to align our strategy with those countries’ strategies (obviously, the alignment will be tacit with Iran)."

Read his entire article here -  "Fantasy and reality in Afghanistan", The Washington Post, February 29, 2012.