Post by Flash on May 3, 2008 15:52:54 GMT -5
IN 2001-2002, when the West wanted to eradicate the Taliban from Afghanistan, Western leaders wooed the Northern Alliance with a strong, explicit commitment to rebuild the country if the Taliban were overthrown.
Post-war, Afghanistan needed roads, communications, schools and agricultural options to replace the opium economy. For a while, it seemed that the effort would be successful. A Loya Jirga, convened in December 2003 to consider a new constitution, showed tribal support growing for the new government.
But Western interests then shifted to Iraq, and the efforts to rebuild Afghanistan were far too limited to be successful. Even today, Kabul still looks like a war zone, opium is still the only viable crop and tribal rule is the only viable government. So it’s not surprising that the Taliban are back (``Commando’s dream ends in battle with Taliban’’, 29/4) and that the West is faced with another long, gruelling guerilla war in one of the toughest terrains in the world.
The West ``blew it’’ in Afghanistan. We made a commitment that we did not keep, largely due to our arrogance about Iraq. I do not know if the situation can be reversed. But I do believe that we owe Afghanistan not just the eradication of the Taliban, but the opportunity to build a better way of life. So I support sending Aussie troops there. But we need more than just troops. We need a strategy that is going to be successful at the grassroots level. If we do not have that, then we may be wasting our time, resources and our soldiers’ lives.
Peter Gray
Lower Plenty, Vic
AFGHANISTAN is now Kevin Rudd’s war, as is Iraq. The Prime Minister has missed the opportunity to separate himself from the quagmire in those two countries. We were given to believe that Australian troops would be phased out of Iraq but we see no timetable. Thus both occupations remain, in the eyes of terrorists at least, open-ended commitments and an invitation to retaliation.
Patrick Sayers
Woollahra, NSW
IT took 10 years and the deaths of thousands of soldiers before the Soviet army decided to ``cut and run’’ from Afghanistan, and unlike the NATO forces of today, it was not too worried about rules of engagement or the Geneva Conventions during its time there.
Taliban fighters keep coming back bigger and better than ever. They accept their own casualties and operate without the logistic and medical support of their opponents. The terrain in which they operate is designed for guerilla warfare.
There is no way that the Western alliance can defeat the Taliban and their supporters and it seems that some NATO countries are aware of this and, while providing a token presence in the country, are hesitant to commit their forces to the hard fighting.
Instead of brushing up on his Mandarin, the PM should study the history of foreign involvement in Afghanistan and get out of the place before our casualty list escalates beyond what we are prepared to accept.
Des Martin
Mountain Creek, Qld
blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/letters/index.php/theaustralian/comments/troops_alone_wont_win_the_war_against_the_taliban/
Post-war, Afghanistan needed roads, communications, schools and agricultural options to replace the opium economy. For a while, it seemed that the effort would be successful. A Loya Jirga, convened in December 2003 to consider a new constitution, showed tribal support growing for the new government.
But Western interests then shifted to Iraq, and the efforts to rebuild Afghanistan were far too limited to be successful. Even today, Kabul still looks like a war zone, opium is still the only viable crop and tribal rule is the only viable government. So it’s not surprising that the Taliban are back (``Commando’s dream ends in battle with Taliban’’, 29/4) and that the West is faced with another long, gruelling guerilla war in one of the toughest terrains in the world.
The West ``blew it’’ in Afghanistan. We made a commitment that we did not keep, largely due to our arrogance about Iraq. I do not know if the situation can be reversed. But I do believe that we owe Afghanistan not just the eradication of the Taliban, but the opportunity to build a better way of life. So I support sending Aussie troops there. But we need more than just troops. We need a strategy that is going to be successful at the grassroots level. If we do not have that, then we may be wasting our time, resources and our soldiers’ lives.
Peter Gray
Lower Plenty, Vic
AFGHANISTAN is now Kevin Rudd’s war, as is Iraq. The Prime Minister has missed the opportunity to separate himself from the quagmire in those two countries. We were given to believe that Australian troops would be phased out of Iraq but we see no timetable. Thus both occupations remain, in the eyes of terrorists at least, open-ended commitments and an invitation to retaliation.
Patrick Sayers
Woollahra, NSW
IT took 10 years and the deaths of thousands of soldiers before the Soviet army decided to ``cut and run’’ from Afghanistan, and unlike the NATO forces of today, it was not too worried about rules of engagement or the Geneva Conventions during its time there.
Taliban fighters keep coming back bigger and better than ever. They accept their own casualties and operate without the logistic and medical support of their opponents. The terrain in which they operate is designed for guerilla warfare.
There is no way that the Western alliance can defeat the Taliban and their supporters and it seems that some NATO countries are aware of this and, while providing a token presence in the country, are hesitant to commit their forces to the hard fighting.
Instead of brushing up on his Mandarin, the PM should study the history of foreign involvement in Afghanistan and get out of the place before our casualty list escalates beyond what we are prepared to accept.
Des Martin
Mountain Creek, Qld
blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/letters/index.php/theaustralian/comments/troops_alone_wont_win_the_war_against_the_taliban/