Afghanistan: Marines' Mission Doomed to Failure
New America Media, News Analysis, Sonali Kolhatkar, Posted: Jul 17, 2009
Editor’s Note: Just two weeks into July, the month is already the deadliest for NATO troops in Afghanistan. The high casualty count is at least partially the result of Operation Khanjar, the largest U.S. Marine Corps ground offensive in years. But NAM contributor Sonali Kolhatkar writes that NATO's modus operandi are doomed to failure.
The United States’ new offensive into Afghanistan’s troubled Helmand province provides a test case for achieving President Obama’s stated goal: “to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
Sonali Kolhatkar co-directs
the Afghan Women's Mission.
It is the first major push of its kind, relying on a massive ground presence of thousands of Marines rather than air strikes, which American strategists acknowlege have killed far too many civilians over the past two years. But while Operation Khanjar realizes Washington’s increased desire to divert more “resources” into Afghanistan, it is unclear what, if anything, can be accomplished by this kind of brute force.
At the launch of the offensive, U.S. General Stanley McChrystal gave only the following explanation: that his intention is to “clear, hold and build” in Taliban strongholds like Helmand.
But what exactly does “clear” mean? If it means to kill, the U.S. Marines will have to distinguish between Taliban and non-Taliban Afghans to avoid more civilian casualties. This is a near-impossible task. The Taliban do not wear a uniform or carry membership cards. They carry weapons, but so do Afghan civilians, who do so to protect their families. In an effort to lower the embarrassing count of civilians killed (often greater than the numbers killed by the Taliban), McChrystal has ordered troops to cut short any pursuit of Taliban fighters if civilians are at risk.
The U.S. troops have to play cautious -- they have everything to lose: their own lives and the diminishing goodwill of the Afghan people. Unfortunately for the troops, Afghan civilian resentment, built up over the past several years, has not vaporized just because the U.S. military’s rules of engagement have officially changed. The Marines are facing a Taliban force bolstered by the survivors of U.S. bombs and the loved ones of those killed. The Taliban’s greatest advantage is their ability to move through a population increasingly sick of “death-by-occupation,” leaving the U.S. troops with only two options: risk letting the Taliban escape, or kill the Taliban even if it means killing civilians in the process and violating the new rules. Both scenarios lead to a Taliban victory.
Perhaps by “clear,” McChrystal means capture. But that raises more difficult questions: Where will they put the prisoners, and what sort of justice will be offered? Will the United States turn Bagram into a greater gulag than Guantanamo? Will they turn over those who survive their torture and interrogation to secret military tribunals? In releasing 90 percent of those imprisoned at Guantanamo without charge, the United States has already proved inept at distinguishing al Qaeda and Taliban members from ordinary civilians over the past eight years. Imprisoning and torturing innocent civilians has the same obvious effect as killing them: increased hostility and resentment toward the occupation.
Perhaps by “clear,” McChrystal simply means pushing the Taliban out of the areas where they are operating into surrounding areas. Already there are reports that the Taliban have escaped the current offensive, simply retreating to the western and northern parts of the country and launching their own counter-operation: Iron Net, intended to trap the U.S. forces. They have killed dozens of troops and civilians through roadside and suicide bombs in the past week alone. In response, the United States has reportedly fallen back on the discredited strategy of air raids to kill dozens of people they claim are “militants,” but likely include civilians.
If the current strategy does result, intentionally or not, in displacing the problem into new areas, presumably more Marines will have to be deployed to those areas to repeat the cat-and-mouse game, and push the Taliban up against borders that they cannot infiltrate.
But Afghanistan is not a small country (it is comparable in size to Iraq) and by this logic, the United States is looking at a long-term blanket occupation of the country, something that ordinary Afghans have increasingly declared they do not want.
A BBC-ABC News poll conducted prior to the current ground offensive revealed that less than 50 percent of Afghans have a favorable opinion of the United States, down from 68 percent in 2005. (The poll also revealed an even greater dislike of the Taliban, meaning that Afghans tolerate the U.S. military only because they have no other options.)
The likelihood of American success in Afghanistan is at best dim and, at worst, heading inevitably toward a lose-lose situation. Given the impossibility of surgically identifying and killing a moving and elusive target, there are only two possible outcomes: killing a lot of civilians, or pushing the insurgency to the rest of the country, or both. After the Iraq debacle, are Americans ready for yet another unpopular occupation, protracted war and thousands of U.S. casualties?
Perhaps the name is apt: the United States' Operation Khanjar is named for an Arabic (not Afghan) dagger widely used in past centuries by fighters in the Gulf Arab region, in countries like Oman. But today, the Khanjar is largely a ceremonial weapon, a decorative objet d’art used to adorn walls but useless in a real fight. Like the Khanjar, the current U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, out-of-touch with reality, is more symbolic than practical.
NAM contributor Sonali Kolhatkar is co-director of the Afghan Women’s Mission and co-author of the book Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propoganda of Silence.
Related Articles:
‘American Style’ War on Taliban to Blame for Pakistan Blast
‘Women’s Rights’ in Afghanistan – Code for Occupation
Al Qaeda Fostering a Cosmic War
Page
1 of 1
|
User Comments
Elaine Supkis on Jul 19, 2009 at 15:27:55 said:
How noble of the US to 'save' the Afghani people! What we desire to give them is somewhat less of what the Soviet Union gave them: women's rights.
Using the 'women's rights' excuse to kill barely armed civilians (the Taliban are civilians, not an 'army') is a neat trick. Only it will fail since all women's liberation movements had to come from within, not via invaders!
This should be painfully obvious to Americans.
The real issue here is more pressing: WE ARE GOING BANKRUPT. Now, our overspending is more than a trillion dollars in less than half a year and climbing. We can't afford to play Sir Lancelot in the name of rescuing women (via killing their families, I might add).
Chris on Jul 19, 2009 at 01:17:18 said:
Everyone here should watch Red Dawn. Put yourself in Afghan shoes. Easy to do after watching Red Dawn. The movie was inspired by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and is about Americans reacting to a Soviet occupation of the US.
Also, Meg, the world would be much more peaceful if bleeding hearts with guns didn't go off to war in search of little girls to defend, as in the process of "saving" many more are killed and hurt.
Chris on Jul 19, 2009 at 01:11:40 said:
Paul Childers is a moron. Eight years after 9/11 and this idiot thinks the Afghans are responsible. Get your head out of your ass.
John Hawkwood on Jul 18, 2009 at 15:22:13 said:
It's not usually noted but the "anti-terrorist" operations in Iraq and Afghanistan resemble the American Indian wars of the 19th century.....that is a heavily armed but ponderous force deployed against a fighting tribal society ...many of the same issues are present ...Torture by both sides...attacks on civilians ...the difficulty of finding the lightly armed enemy.....However the situation is not impossible from the US point of view if One...we have tribal allies and use one group against the other....Two...we deprive the Taliban of the poppy crop...(My suggestion would be that we simply buy it up at world market prices and destroy most of it....saving some for medical morphine...)However we will probably botch the job waste a lot of money.....so the end result will be some sort of destructive stand off....It could be the ruin of Obama....John Hawkwood, Portland Or
John Z on Jul 18, 2009 at 12:05:19 said:
P Chiders: It's people who think like you that's brought about the economic and moral collapse of America. Now, surrounded by failure and corruption, you lash out at everything and everyone in the world who dares not to stand down. Here's a suggestion for you: do the world a favor and go in your garage, pick up one of your many guns, stick the barrel in your mouth, and pull the trigger!
Simple as that
Sam on Jul 18, 2009 at 12:03:54 said:
To Paul Childers,
I was glad to read your straight shooting comment. Yes that should be done and have US armed forces just do that. Thank you for reminding what US did in Tokyo..... NO wonder all other nations want to acquire deadliest weapons to ward off the fate of TOKYO. As long as people like you are alive and will be there will be WARS and innocent will be killed. I see a little Christian CRUSADER in you and GOD bless you to meet havoc upon the people of Afghanistan.
John Z on Jul 18, 2009 at 11:24:29 said:
P Chiders: It's people who think like you that's brought about the economic and moral collapse of America. Now, surrounded by failure and corruption, you lash out at everything and everyone in the world who dares not to stand down. Here's a suggestion for you: do the world a favor and go in your garage, pick up one of your many guns, stick the barrel in your mouth, and pull the trigger!
Simple as that
Hank Hardcase on Jul 18, 2009 at 08:13:37 said:
Excellent comment by Ms. Kolhatkar on Obama's war against the women & children of South Asia. This cowardly imperial adventure by the USA will end badly, if there is any justice in the universe.
Geo Archers on Jul 17, 2009 at 18:38:01 said:
To Paul Childers
Most Americans like you are bloodthirdty animals.
FYI: 911 attacks were accomplished by follow Israel firstyer Americans.
Paul, You must have flunked math and Physic classes. 2 planes hit 2 WTC towers and 3 dropped in less than 8 seconds each. All turned into dust.
FYI: The taliban is a political group and Al Quadia is a factious CIA term--means outhouse in Arabic.Arabs are not stupid like most Americans,that believe 19 arabs defeated America with plastic knifes
Get an eduaction dummmy :^/
Joe Berlejung on Jul 17, 2009 at 09:23:01 said:
Excellent editorial and personal opinion. Clearly the author has an emotional attachment to the situation and I commend her on being true to her point of view.
To the editor: please ensure your audience is aware that this is an editorial and not hard journalism supported by quantitative facts and reliable sources.
Jsmith on Jul 17, 2009 at 04:55:26 said:
"But what exactly does “clear” mean? If it means to kill...."
It doesn't, but it does make it clear you didn't do your homework.
Clear means to remove Taliban influence from an area. As a woman, unless you like burqas and acid in your face, this can only be seen as a good thing.
merks on Jul 16, 2009 at 18:35:33 said:
so far there have been NO civilian casualties in this offensive. i am an aspiring Marine infantrymen and the way you talk about our troops in this article is very disrespectful and 1 sided. rather than criticize the US for fighting an enemy that doesn't where uniforms, you should be badmouthing the Taliban who put the civilian population at huge risk by blending in and running into markets after setting off bombs. overall this is a poor article in my opinion.
sbmeg on Jul 16, 2009 at 16:11:44 said:
Dear Ms. Kolhatkar,
What do you think is the best possible outcome? What do you think is the right thing for Americans and for Afghans to do? I think your readers are probably aware of the awful difficulties.
I ask for a very personal reason.
As an American who lived with my family and worked in Afghanistan in the the early 70s, I have a great deal of respect for the Afghan people and culture. I travelled all over the country, and felt safe and welcomed. When I was there, they had women in the Cabinet (before the US did); Kabul University was thriving; the schools were full of lively children.
When I was just 19, I taught an intensive English course for 4 men, the first to take a census in Afghanistan. We were close; they told me they were afraid of going to the United States and thought black people were scary. I brought in freedom songs and taught a little American civil rights history. My Afghan students responded with great empathy when they learned the song "Before I'd be a slave I'd be buried in my grave and go home to my Lord and be free." This brought up discussions of Afghan history and the need for individual and national independence.
Currently, my family and I help support an Afghan school. My children grew up hearing stories of Afghanistan; they like kabuli pilau and birianis; they have played in Afghan clothes, tried on burkas, and they know Afghan history. They rejoiced with us when music returned to Kabul.
Now our son has decided that going over to help fight the Taliban is the right thing to do and is joining the US military.
I am not sure what tipped him in that direction. It may have been the incident of acid being thrown on schoolgirls and then the girls bravely returning to school, their parents telling them that they owed it to future generations of girls to go back to school no matter how afraid they were.
I know of friends' adult children joining the US military for similar reasons. They want to do good in the world and they are willing to put their lives on the line in the belief that it is the right thing to do.
I hate to think of young people with noble motivation going over and automatically being treated as if they were no more than the latest group of occupiers to invade Afghanistan. I understand if so many years of war have embittered, frightened and angered the people of Afghanistan. I hope that some of the tradition of hospitality I knew so well and appreciated so much survives. However, I would hope and trust that those who are away from the front lines, and are free to speculate, would do so with a view to finding solutions.
It is a new administration and a new world.
Best wishes,
Meg
Paul Childers on Jul 16, 2009 at 15:02:24 said:
Dear Ms Kolhatkar
-->I think you are right, so I think the US should carpet bomb the Taliban from the Land, Sea and Air, just like the bombing of Tokyo.
Then our kids can come home, woman will still be treated like dirt and if you attack the US again, we nuke the place.
Simple as that
Paul Childers