This is a revised and somehow developed form of a comment posted under the article" No more war Games" [1] written by "Robert Fox"and published online in Guardian News Paper. Therefore, the title of this post comes from the title of that article and is relevant to the writer’s approach toward new doctorine of war. Fox suggests peace and, so, he may propagandize against what he calls it "War Games"!
But I have a different opinion on the shift of Westerns’ international and regional policy from war to peace--- as Fox wishes for.
I think it is possible to have "Peace Games" as well as "War Games".
Peace Games?
In my opinion as an Afghan- and approximately a pessimist! -the only thing has changed, is the Paradigm of Games. British Foreign Minister said last week that it is now the time for peace not war- that is, to reintegrate and to merge those so called "Medieval" hardliners and those whom were labeled "Terrorists" and "Fundamentalists "so far by the West, into the body of Afghan democracy, in order to settle peace, to develop human rights standards and to protect women rights by blood stained swords and hands of the labeled "Islamic Extremists"--- surely, by the name of "Peace", not War!
This means you must stop war for a while and start peace and reconciliation with your "fancy and virtual" opponents in order to fortify your frontlines for the next forthcoming battlefield combats against your "actual enemy"!
Afghans are almost totally suspicious about shifting Western policy from war to peace choice [2]. The overt political-economic interests and the covert geo-strategic goals and challenges are behind all tempting curtails of each war and peace process! This is what "Ahmed Rashid" implied in his famous book: "Taliban and Oil… "for the rationale of creation of Taliban in 1994- almost ten years ago.
The reconciliation plan with Taliban proposed and designed by a consortium of Pakistan, UK, US and Saudi Arabia, sidelining Iran and marginalizing China as outstanding and powerful neighbors of Afghanistan, and Over-Focusing upon the role of the "Spiritual Father of Taliban" and the homeland of Ben Laden, the Saudi Arabia [3], means that new regional conflicts and races between the West and its allies in the region from one side, Iran, China and Russia from another side is getting underway in Afghanistan.
It seems that the West and its allies struggle further to curb Iran and China via rebuilding, reinforcing and refueling just another version of a puppet State of Taliban hardliners that can serve at the meantime as a stooge for Pakistan and as a coefficient factor for the shared interests of the allied parties in the region- including spiritual backbone of Taliban, the Saudi Arabia. A hardliner Agent State in Kabul can play more effectively than a scattered, fragmented and corrupted state that namely exists in Afghanistan. The neo-Taliban Emirate would play the role of a deterring handler against those revolting regional powers which are potentially called "enemies of the West and the Allies" i.e. China and Iran.
Western military forces can not remain in Afghanistan for long time due to the rising resentments both in Afghanistan and in the West. The West and the regional allies have to find an alternative leverage and rationale for their presence in the region.
Therefore, there is no peace process going on, indeed. Only the scenario has changed. Otherwise, Robert Fox has explicitly clarified some sort of "new military actions" taking place in the region while making hue and cry for peace building and reconciliation with Taliban. Fox says in his article:
"As if cued by Tony Blair's grand standing performance at the Chilcot Iraq inquiry last Friday, we are being warned of a new threat of confrontation and possibly conflict with Iran. Barack Obama has ordered Patriot missile batteries to be sent to four Gulf States and two Aegis class cruisers stationed in the upper Gulf to combat the new generation of Iranian intermediate missiles." [4]
As Fox explained, the navy shipments and vessels and the Patriot missile batteries go truly to the four Gulf States and two Aegis class cruisers stationed in the upper Gulf to combat the Iranian missiles. That is why these missile batteries go to the Persian Gulf from one side of the Ocean and other packages of missiles go to Taiwan from another side, of course! Now, do you think there is a peace process and a reconciliation plan going on in Afghanistan or a coming regional battlefield is underway?
The Cost of War and the Cost of Peace!
More than one trillion dollars spent over war sine 2001 with the name of securing Afghanistan, the region, the world and for "elimination of terrorists" [5].
Thus, the US military budget for 2009-2210 in Afghanistan and Iraq exceeded 100 billion dollars [6] and the new military budget of Obama administration for 2010-2011 is soaring 708 billion dollars - 159 billions allocated to war in Iraq and Afghanistan [7]. All of these were spent to make Afghanistan and Iraq secure, to build a modern and a Model Democracy in the region, to eliminate the radical Islamic Terrorists and to secure the world for all and for ever.
But Afghanistan is one of top listed insecure and unsafe place in the world and Afghan people are dying from poverty, insecurity and violence. No job has been created. No security exists. No real state is built up and no fair justice body is ruling. People are massively leaving their country to the neighboring countries for laboring but are shot and killed on the borders [8]--- the borders of the neighboring countries that Afghanistan was to be a model country for them!
The government of Afghanistan is now on the top of corruption list of the world "failed states", drug trafficking has doubled since the downfall of Taliban, the shadow government of Taliban rules over 33 out of 34 provinces of Afghanistan [9], and more that 50% of citizens of Kabul, the capital of country, still have no electricity [10].
Now, Where is that "Model Country and Model Democracy" that Mr. W. Bush and the International Community asserted to buildup in Afghanistan eight years ago? The International Community has created only hundreds of NGOs as parallel governments to grasp and gobble the foreign aids and take them back to their homes, ofcourse! [11]
Afghan people are suspicious about the shady and covert intentions of Western policy makers and about the objective for the presence of their forces in Afghanistan. That is because those who created Taliban in 1990s and then toppled them down later in 2001, may have decided now to return them to power and to reintegrate them into "Afghan Political System"- perhaps to pave the way for destabilizing the region, to catch their fish from troubled water, and to curb Iran and China’s emerging super powers in the region- just by the name of "Peace" not "War".
Symptoms of a real change in the mindset of Western policymakers are absent. The only shift getting certainly underway is a shift in the paradigm: The doctorine of war is torn off enough, but the paradigm of peace is too enchanting! Through reconciliation with Taliban hyper-extremists, one can curb the Iranian type of softer extremism which is much more flexible towards modernization process, towards education, globalization, rationalization and the new world, but unfortunately, has constantly been inflexible and uncompromising in its hostile position against Western powers demands for more than three decades.
The recently "Cyber War" between China and America and the escalating tensions over Taiwan military plan and the missile shipments, are symptoms of another "Cold War" emerging under the merely splendid name of enchanting "peace" implementation and "Reconciliation" in Afghanistan!
The sacrifice of this newly "sacred" global and regional peace game will certainly be Afghans again, but the winners and losers would not be specified unless by the lapse of time.
30.01.2010
M. Ghaznawi
(This article revised for second time in order to add some endnotes and references needed for print actions. Feb12, 2010- M. Ghaznawi)
[4] . Fox, Robert, Op.cit
[5] . Belasco , Amy, The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11, Congressional Research report, September 28, 2009.
[10] . Arman, Amin, Ibid.
[11] . Yahoo news report , op.cit.
H!
This is pretty well developed article the strict points always covered and you discovered!!!!Hum
The Guardian Paper is a real guardian for empowered G.Britain soft ocupation in third world,!
sm.kaml