So after nearly a decade of being in a continuous state of war, over a million dead in Iraq and countless casualties in Afghanistan the world has been told the ‘War on Terror’ is unwinnable. This is not the speak of some think tank or analyst but has come straight out of the horses mouth, General Sir David Richards the head of UK’s armed forces.
Some see the comments as the kind of “realism” that is needed to address the current situation in Afghanistan. General Sir David Richards went on to say that extremist Islamism cannot be defeated as an idea. What the General seems to be trying to say is that years of bombing, killing and ‘hearts and minds’ propaganda have failed to break the will of the Muslim World.
The usual rhetoric of democracy, nation building and women’s liberation will be rolled out to explain what the future policy in Afghanistan should be. We must all remember that this whole charade was in the name of educating those who know not about democratic values and the sweet taste of freedom.
Having tasted the freedom of years of occupation and random killings the people of Afghanistan are less willing than ever to roll out the red carpet for the NATO forces.
Even when promoting democracy and nation building the West’s hypocrisy is clear.
Hamid Karzai seems to be the only man in Afghanistan the West feel comfortable dealing with, a man who is as ineffective a ruler as is Western policy in Afghanistan. If any evidence was needed that the West doesn’t practice what it preaches, then you need look no further than Karazi’s reelection in 2009. Initial cries of foulplay, and pressure from Western leaders saw Karzai agreeing to a re-run of the election which he had won. Which was then cancelled after Karazi was left as the only candidate. A victory by default, which received unanimous backing from the very people who had accused him of fraud days earlier. The irony would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragic.
Karzai the Armani wearing darling of the West has learnt well from his masters, and is ensuring that he makes as much collateral income from his power whilst he still can. His brothers are buying Villas in Dubai on government expenses, whilst the rest of Karazi’s officials bleed the country dry.
It is exactly the kind of governance the West loves to lecture the world against, but it is the only type of governance they can do business with. Weak, corrupt and pliable rulers are what keeps the ‘national interests’ of the West alive all across the world.
The occupation of Afghanistan was never about nation building or freedom, it was about control, fear and subjugation. So in that sense the West have achieved what they set out to do, the fact it has come at the cost of the very flawed principles they preach to others is their biggest loss.