Trump finally revealed his strategy for Afghanistan

Trump finally revealed his strategy for Afghanistan

President Donald Trump, breaking with his derision for the 16-year long war has finally rolled out his much awaited policy towards Afghanistan. The decision to increase number of troops on the ground is an extension of the botched approach of his predecessors.

All the options that were on the table during protracted review of US new strategy for south asia were bewildering. The number of extra troops to be sent and the bench mark for success are yet to determined. Thus trump has left the devil lying in the detail.

During his address to the troops, trump embraced deeper US involvement in a militiary compaign he once slammed as futile.

The announcement by president is a success for the hawkish Defence Secretary James Mattis, who has repeatedly warned that quick withdrawal of US troops would create a vacuum that the ISIS and Al-Qaeda will be able to fill.

Trump also mounted pressure on Pakistan to shutdown militant safe havens inside the country and take concrete action against Afghan Taliban. At the same time trum woo pakistan arch rival india into helping NATO fight extremist inside Afghanistn.

His promise to pursue integration in all instruments - diplomatic, economic and military does not sound convincing. At the moment US has no full time ambassador in Pakistan and afghanistan. Many key diplomatic seats are yet to be filled.

importantly, trum has realised that Afghan Taliban-who control over 40% of territory is a force to be reckoned with.

During compaign trials, Trump scorned the afghan War as an archetype of how the Obama and hillary would squander billions of dollars in return for insignificant gains. However, he has reversed his position that American men and women in uniform should return to their home from that country.

By adding more troops to the already 8500 troops stationed in Afghanistan, he has toed the line of warmongering republican administration and military commanders, who were pleading expanding action against militants. There is no guarantee that adding more troops will be able to turn the tide, and objective that could not be realized by more than 130,000 NATO troops.
Trump must appreciate the fact that Washington’s fuzzy approach to winding down the conflict and riding roughshod over suggestions from regional power will hamper the progress in Afghanistan.

President Ashraf Ghani has been kicking the can down the road on key issues of institutional reforms and eradicating endemic corruption. Ubiquitous insecurity continues to be a huge impediment to the implementation of important policy decisions.
As long as Kabul gropes for political and economic stability, frustrated youth will continue to swell the ranks of militant organizations. As Afghan government is incapable to set their house in order, the going will be tough for trump as was for his predecessors- all playing whack-a-mole.

Whack-a-mole: an arcade game in which the player uses a small rubber mallet to hit robotic toy moles that pop up randomly in holes laid out across the surface of the machine.