The Allies in Afghanistan do not understand that no amount of bombing will do away with the Taliban. Ideologies cannot be destroyed by the military. The UK Telegraph reports the imminent fall of Musa Qala in north of Helmand province. NATO has even dropped leaflets in the region warning ordinary citizens of Allied attack. Musa Qala is important to the Taliban. Its fall will be a snub to the Talibs. Afghan soldiers will lead the assault and the British will follow. The troops who started from Sangin are hardly two miles away from the town. In fact some might have reached it by now. Taliban commanders have told the paper of making a possible tactical exit from the area into remote hideouts in the Northern mountains. This sort of military movement is nothing new for both parties. What is interesting here is the use of Afghan soldiers to hound out other Afghans, albeit they are Talibans. And why on earth are the Allies trying to flush out the enemy by attacking individual Taliban towns? Des it not make more sense to launch a larger counter-insurgency operation?
The West follows the time-tested policy of divide and rule. The Afghan soldiers in the Allied Army feel gratified that they are being led to fight for their country. The Talibans on the other hand beget a rabid hatred for these Afghan militia who appear unpatriotic from the Taliban vantage-point. Thus the civil war in Afghanistan is further stoked. And the Allies get to stay on in the region. Any lasting peace there would mean the end of Allied presence there.
This attack on Musa Qala is a red herring to distract us from the real reason why the US and UK are there in the first place. Both these nations know that Osama bin Laden, the source of all this trouble, is no longer in Afghanistan. He is supposed to be hiding in Northern Pakistan. It is a shame that the Allies have not found him yet. So to save face, the Allies are bombing civilian bases, all the while proclaiming the great losses they are inflicting on the Taliban. Ironically, everyone knows that key Talibans and ideologues have all fled to Pakistan. So it is only a kind of self-serving bloodlust which compels the Allies to bomb towns. No matter that the casualties are high on both sides. Guys like the British Jack Sadler, 21, have their lives snuffed out in random bombings.
The Allies would do well to either defeat the enemy in one firm sweep or infiltrate enemy ranks through Intelligence channels. This kind of leaflet-drop-and-then- bomb attitude will only anger more and more Afghans. It only increases the Taliban base in Afghanistan. Surely, the Allies know this.
Via: Telegraph UK
Images: Michael Totten & Content.com
