Monday 26 July 2010

The Afghan War will not by won by NATO forces

The Guardian today has revealed the extent of the leaks from a huge cache of secret US military files. It is not edifying reading as it exposes the woeful behaviour of US service personnel and the success of Taliban fighters with deadly surface to air missiles and very effective bombing devices. NATO forces are in serious trouble.  They cannot defeat their deadly foe by means of modern warfare and they have managed to alienate and ostracize the civilian population.  They are hated and cannot repair the damage done by brutal bombing and inaccurate strikes which have reaked havoc among the local people.  There is moral outrage against immoral and amoral behaviour.

There appears to be evidence that elements within Pakistan's intelligence community have been supporting the Taliban and forces opposed to NATO.  This brings into question the whole aid for Pakistan package. Are Western funds being diverted and, in effect, spent on forces and movements sympathetic to the Taliban and their fellow travellers? Safe havens for insurgents and guerrilla warriors in Pakistan and along the Afghan border are most certainly an intolerable affront to US politicians and Pentagon pen pushers. There has been a steep rise in bomb attacks on NATO/coalition forces. This will continue as their opponents are committed to driving the foreigners from Afghanistan and the whole region.  The Taliban and their fellow travellers support the Islamic way of life and wish to see their opponents blown to death by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) known as roadside bombs. Ideologically they are strongly and vehemently opposed to what NATO represents, i.e. decadent Western values.  The Taliban and Muslim fighters resent the presence of unbelieving aliens, whom they regard with contempt and scorn.

With so much corruption and dishonest practices in this whole region, one wonders if any credible military and political enterprise, funded by Western governments, can succeed and flourish in a way that shows integrity and honest endeavour.  Can we trust the political and military leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan? Fair play would be great, but cheating is rife. It is time to review the situation and bring our troops home from this messy conflict.

On the front page of today's Guardian there is a photograph of an American soldier in the 82nd Airborne Division. On his left arm is the distinctive tatoo which reads: AND HELL CRIED AIRBORNE.  Well, in Helmand province US soldiers will, in all probability, experience the living hell on earth of warfare, as British soldiers did earlier this year. And we are told that the coalition forces are acting with the good intentions, but the path to hell is paved by good intentions.

Proverbs 16:25 is a solemn word of warning.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was reported in the Sunday Times on 13 June that evidence suggests that Pakistani intelligence agents have been arming the insurgents, helping them with tactical advice on NATO supply lines, giving technical advice on metal free mines and improvised explosive devices. The ST news was based on a London School of Economics report, which was placed on line at thesundaytimes.co.uk/world
and shows that Pakistan is apparently playing an astonishing double game.

Anonymous said...

According to Taliban commanders, the roadside bombs were introduced by Pakistani officials some years ago. These devices allow sappers to plant bombs that evade metal detectors as they are have low metal content and are known as "plastic bombs". These bombs have killed many British soldiers in Afghanistan.

Dedham

Dedham
River Stour