hankyoreh

U.S. President Barack Obama has decided that the final direction for the U.S.’s Afghanistan strategy will be a great boost in troops. Having given serious thought to several options, Obama has decided on a new strategy that would reinforce troop strength in the country by 34,000 troops and informed relevant nations yesterday. Between the hardline faction centered on the military leadership that calls for an increase in military intervention, and the moderates, represented by the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, who calls for boosting civilian cooperation, the hardliners won in the end.

Obama’s decision lacks both realism and justification. Historically, although Afghanistan has been invaded several times by major powers like Great Britain and the Soviet Union, it has never surrendered. The U.S. likewise has been waging war for eight years after attacking the country to punish Al Qaeda and the Taliban government following the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001. It has yet been able to mop up Al Qaeda and instead has simply transformed the entire country into a war zone. The indiscriminate military operations of the U.S. military has strengthened the power of the Taliban and turned the whole country of people into an enemy.

In particular, as the U.S. offers concentrated support to the corrupt local government to stand against the resistance, there is criticism that it is beginning to look like another Vietnam War. Even Karl Eikenberry, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and a former U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has said that a boost in troop strength would only cause more resistance from people in Afghanistan, and called for greater numbers of civilians instead.

U.S. allies meanwhile are showing cool responses. Only Great Britain has said it would immediately send 500 more troops, while France, Australia and Germany have taken a negative attitude towards boosting troop strength. Japan has also said it plans to terminate its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, which ends in January, and concentrate on giving financial aid. This is because they have discerned that Obama’s decision will not be able to resolve the problems in Afghanistan.

In spite of this, our government has decided to send 130 Provincial Reconstruction Team personnel and 400 troops to protect them, and soon plans to submit a deployment approval bill to the National Assembly. Besides Australia and Sweden, this is the largest number of dispatched troops of any nation without interests in Afghanistan. We hope the Lee administration reconsiders its plan to send troops to Afghanistan before it is too late.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]