Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Afghanistan
The senior U.S. officer in Logar, Army Lt. Col. Thomas Gukeisen, tells Voice of America that he does not have enough soldiers to control all of the province, even with the help of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP). Instead, he uses the troops that he has to occupy the most cooperative villages, and turn them into examples for neighboring villages to follow.
IMO: Hm, sounds a little like the old 'strategic hamlets' of Vietnam. Perhaps not a nice similarity.
In declaring on Tuesday that he would “finish the job” in Afghanistan, US President Barack Obama used a phrase clearly meant to imply that even as he deploys an additional 30,000 or so troops, he has finally figured out how to bring the conflict to an end, perhaps by 2017. But Pakistanis may feel that if the US withdraws, India will fill the void in southern Afghanistan. So the United States is stuck, between not wanting to suggest it will be a presence in the region forever and showing enough commitment to encourage Pakistan to change its behaviour.
IMO: So, an element of any success for Obama and the undoubtedly economically strained USA is the co-operation of both Pakistan and India. India's Manmohan Singh will undoubtedly do his best, and it is hoped that Pakistan under its present leadership may do the same. I have just been to Turkey, which has strong Sufi elements and Turkey has been extremely successful now for many years, economically and in other ways. For the sake of Pakistan and Islam, I trust that the Sufi element in Pakistan may also prove successful . IMO Sufism is as like Wahabism as chalk is like cheese, not much alike, and things could conceivably turn out well for the subcontinent.
IMO: Hm, sounds a little like the old 'strategic hamlets' of Vietnam. Perhaps not a nice similarity.
In declaring on Tuesday that he would “finish the job” in Afghanistan, US President Barack Obama used a phrase clearly meant to imply that even as he deploys an additional 30,000 or so troops, he has finally figured out how to bring the conflict to an end, perhaps by 2017. But Pakistanis may feel that if the US withdraws, India will fill the void in southern Afghanistan. So the United States is stuck, between not wanting to suggest it will be a presence in the region forever and showing enough commitment to encourage Pakistan to change its behaviour.
IMO: So, an element of any success for Obama and the undoubtedly economically strained USA is the co-operation of both Pakistan and India. India's Manmohan Singh will undoubtedly do his best, and it is hoped that Pakistan under its present leadership may do the same. I have just been to Turkey, which has strong Sufi elements and Turkey has been extremely successful now for many years, economically and in other ways. For the sake of Pakistan and Islam, I trust that the Sufi element in Pakistan may also prove successful . IMO Sufism is as like Wahabism as chalk is like cheese, not much alike, and things could conceivably turn out well for the subcontinent.
# posted by uv : 3:05 PM
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