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The Massive Trap that Awaits the U.S. in Afghanistan

February 12, 2009

by michael payne


America, since its successes in defeating the twin threats of Germany and Japan in WWII, appears to have suffered a historical mental lapse. We waged an unjustified war, not of necessity but of choice, in Vietnam and lost. We duplicated that debacle by invading and occupying Iraq and now, plans are being made to escalate our military actions in Afghanistan, a move that I fear will lead us into a massive trap and disaster.

After two monumental failures that never should have even been initiated, you would think that we would have learned from history but, from all appearances, we have learned nothing. The U.S., teetering on the edge of national insolvency, is now on the verge of upping the ante in Afghanistan with increases in troop deployment. The intent is to wind down in Iraq and transfer military forces to fight in a nation where every invader in history has failed to achieve their objectives.

The U.S. and its NATO allies have now been in Afghanistan for seven years. The Taliban, who initially were dealt massive blows by our military and appeared to be on the ropes, have now been reinvigorated--grown greatly in strength and now controling the majority of Afghanistan, along with various tribal factions.

The many incidences of bombing of innocents, called unfortunate collateral damage by U.S. war hawks, have infuriated Afghanis to the point that we are now considered the hated invader that must be expelled. How many more wedding parties must be obliterated, how many more innocent children, mothers and fathers who got in our way will have to die before we realize that there is no definitive reason for our presence in that nation? I defy anyone to come up with a rational, moral reason for U.S. troops and NATO to continue warfare in this sovereign nation. War hawks can pontificate but there is no reason whatsoever. This is simply one more misguided war of choice, not necessity.

A trap awaits the U.S. and its NATO allies and they apparently cannot see what the future holds. To get a picture of what the future may well hold for us in that desolate, mountainous nation filled with numerous tribal factions, let's review history and see what we can learn from it. The Soviets sent troops into Afghanistan in 1979 for a number of reasons. First, they wished to expand their influence in Asia. They also wanted to preserve the Communist government that had been established in the 1970s, and was collapsing because of its lack of support other than in the military. Third, the Soviets wanted to protect their interests in Afghanistan from Iran and western nations.

The problem with their invasion of Afghanistan was that it was doomed to fail right from the start. Here is the lesson from history that the Russians should have heeded but did not. The first historically documented invasion of the region that is now called Afghanistan was made by Alexander the Great in 330 BC as part of his string of conquests. Thereafter, it was invaded by Arab Muslims, ethnic groups from the Middle East and North Africa (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria and others). Later, it was invaded by the Mongols (Genghis Khan) and in the nineteenth century twice by British India.

Knowing these facts that over this span of history every one of these invaders were eventually driven out of that nation, the Soviets invaded anyway--a big mistake--and fell into a deadly trap. The U.S. government was instrumental in setting this trap beginning in the 1980's, when it trained, financed and armed the Mujahideen Islamic Guerillas to fight the Soviet invasion.

President Jimmy Carter advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski is known to have played a fundamental role in crafting U.S. policy, which, unbeknownst even to the mujahideen, was part of a larger strategy "to induce a Soviet military intervention." In a 1998 interview, Brzezinski recalled:

"We didn't push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would. That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Soviets into the Afghan trap. The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter. We now have the opportunity of giving to the Soviet Union its Vietnam War."

Since 330 BC, five powerful invaders, including the USSR, made the fatal mistake of waging war on Afghanistan and all were defeated.

And now, the US is not only mired down in a war in that nation, but is making plans to escalate our involvement. We now know that in the 1980's the US was funding the Mujahideen and setting up a trap for Russia. Now the roles may be completely reversed because someone is funding the Taliban to a great degree as evidenced by its increasing ability to control a large part of Afghanistan.

Apparently, the Taliban and any number of supporting factions are now choking off the supply routes from the Pakistani port of Karachi via the Khyber Pass to Kabul that NATO and the U.S. has been using. The problem now posed is to find new supply routes through some combination of routes involving Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan into Afghanistan.

By all current indications, it appears that the incoming Obama administration is poised to continue the current U.S. policy in Afghanistan and escalate it by transferring thousands more troops from Iraq. Will this administration explain to the American people what exactly we are doing in Afghanistan? What is the mission, what is the goal? If it is to wipe out Al-Qaeda hiding in the mountains of Pakistan, then we need to initiate intensive, on-going diplomatic discussions with the Pakistani government, not wasted time, energy, lives and the spending of billions more dollars in Afghanistan at a time when the American financial system and the economy are bleeding.

Gary Leupp in his December 27, 2008 article "The Coming Surge Into Afghanistan: Obama and the Graveyard of Empires" wrote, "Obama seems to believe that the U.S. can defeat those resisting the foreign presence and its local allies, stabilize the thoroughly corrupt Northern Alliance warlord regime with Hamid Karzai as its symbolic head, and stem the flow of Taliban back and forth across the Pakistan border. Most importantly, it can finally get that oil pipeline done--the one that's to run from the Caspian Sea through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, Pakistan and India to the Indian Ocean bypassing Russia and unfriendly Iran. The deal was signed in December 2002 but construction has been stymied by the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. That pipeline is, I believe, the big prize."

This writer is definitely right on with his conclusion that the pipeline is a big prize. The building of this pipeline has been known for years but we Americans have short memories and short attention spans; and we have a certain naivety that makes us highly susceptible to listening and believing in phony, fraudulent justifications for waging foreign wars. We listened, believed and got fooled with the Vietnam War, then with the Iraq War, and now we are on the verge of being fooled yet once, more. Will we ever learn?

We don't really know but it is highly possible that Pakistan, Russia, Iran and any number of other nations are funding the Taliban and other insurgents (repeating exactly what the U.S. did in the 1980's to defeat the Russians) and setting a massive trap for America. Those ambitious plans for that pipeline through Afghanistan are not at all acceptable to many of these surrounding nations and you can bet that a lot is going on behind the scenes to make certain that it will not materialize.

Well, it won't be too long before we find out because, unless things change, the new President Obama and his Bush-trained military advisers seem to be hell bent on escalation. The U.S. is poised to become the latest nation that made the mistake of invading Afghanistan and was thereafter defeated.

The problem is America cannot afford it in either monetary or moral terms. Will we ever, ever learn?

Emotional article but the game is large

Afghanistan, where US was once confident of victory, has now become more dangerous for its forces than Iraq. Since their fall from power, Taliban guerillas regrouped and joined together into a resilient insurgency and their recent strike in the heart of Kabul demonstrated their will. US generals admit that more military installation will not be enough they will in fact need special forces to defeat Taliban infiltration from Pakistan as well as special intelligence units to defeat al Qaeda on both side of the border.
There‘re also reports that there’s a lot for the administration to worry about, not just their failing strategy but how badly the war has been executed on the ground.
Moreover, Pentagon has reportedly lost track of some 87000 weapons that handed over without proper accounting to Afghan army and the police units. Those weapons end up being used by the Taliban and other insurgents
As the administration recognized, it’s also possible to lose the war entirely and America needs to straighten her position in Afghanistan before considering her interests in Caspian.

xl

America's New Asian Quagmire

Graveyard of Empires

With the situation on the ground rapidly deteriorating, U.S. imperialism's South Asian adventure is going off the rails.

The New York Times reported February 4 that supplies "intended for NATO forces in Afghanistan were suspended Tuesday after Taliban militants blew up a highway bridge in the Khyber Pass region, a lawless northwestern tribal area straddling the border with Afghanistan."

The 30-yard-long iron bridge, located 15 miles northwest of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) provincial capital, Peshawar, a thriving metropolis of several million people, was a major supply route ferrying some 80 percent of NATO supplies into Afghanistan.

Tuesday's attacks were followed-up Wednesday when insurgents torched 10 supply trucks returning from Afghanistan, the Los Angeles Times reported. Supplies destined for NATO forces in Afghanistan--primarily food and fuel--are trucked through Pakistan by local contractors. Many are now refusing to drive the circuitous route through the Khyber Pass because of the dangerous conditions.

As Asia Times reported January 29, Peshawar "is the commercial, economic, political and cultural capital of the Pashtuns in Pakistan." Increasingly, it is morphing into a major power center for jihadists--on both sides of the border.


Peshawar and its surrounds are also now the epicenter for the Taliban and other militants in their struggle not only in Afghanistan and Pakistan but also in their bid to establish a base from which to wage an "end-of-time battle" that would stretch all the way to the Arab heartlands of Damascus and Palestine. (Syed Saleem Shahzad, "On the Militant Trail, Part 1: A battle before a battle," Asia Times Online, January 29, 2009)


With kidnappings--whether by militants or criminal gangs--and beheadings on the rise, the city is cloaked in fear. Residents believe "a major showdown" between the state and the jihadists "is imminent."

Daily Times reported February 4 that the "Talibanization" of Orakzai Agency near Peshawar has accelerated to such an extent that local people have fled the area to "escape Taliban-style rule." Daily Times avers,

Orakzai, which borders Kurram in the west and Hangu district in the east, provides a means to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to expand its influence to Peshawar through Khyber Agency. The organisation has already made its presence in the region known by attacking truck terminals for Afghanistan-bound supplies for NATO and US forces. Despite government attempts to block their infiltration, the Taliban recently celebrated their "complete control" over the region by inviting a group of journalists to the area in a show of power. (Abdul Saboor Khan, "Orakzai becomes a new have for Taliban," Daily Times, February 4, 2009)


Pakistani officials told the New York Times "it was not immediately clear how soon the trucks carrying crucial supplies for NATO forces would be able to travel through the Khyber Pass to Afghanistan."

Meanwhile, in a further setback for U.S. regional plans, The Guardian reported February 3, that the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet Republic, was threatening to close the U.S. airbase of Manas "a key staging post for coalition forces fighting in nearby Afghanistan."

Both US and Nato commanders have expressed dismay at the possible closure.

It comes at a time when Nato is desperately trying to expand its supply routes to Afghanistan via the northern countries of central Asia following a series of devastating attacks on truck convoys from Pakistan. (Luke Harding, "Closure of US base in Kyrgyzstan could alter Afghanistan strategy," The Guardian, February 3, 2009)


In an echo of the 19th century "Great Game" for the control of Central Asia by Czarist Russia and Imperial Britain, Russia has been pressuring Kurmanbek Bakiyev's authoritarian regime to expel the Americans, viewed as a destabilizing power in the region.

The expulsion of U.S. forces from the Manas airbase would be a blow to U.S. efforts to control vital routes of licit and illicit cargo--including the booming heroin trade--and would follow a similar expulsion from Uzbekistan in 2006 following a deal between Moscow and the Uzbek kleptocracy run by President Islam Karimov.

The Kyrgyz Parliament is expected to vote next week on a measure to expel the Americans from Manas. The "loss of the base would present a significant problem for the Obama administration," The New York Times reported February 5. The Times averred, "About 15,000 personnel and 500 tons of cargo pass through Manas each month. The base is also the home of large tanker aircraft that are used for in-air refueling of fighter planes on combat missions over Afghanistan."

Continued........

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=12194

To be honest I hope the American eliminate those crazy Talibans without more civilian casualty.

I hate what Talibans stands for and what they’ve put their people through.

They are not representatives of Islam in any sense, Islam demands and requires full respect for women, human right and individuals who are different in term of religion and culture.

Afghanis people need more education and more education

Oh Yes, More Education.


Remember when Bush and his Neo Con Cronies also promised the people of Afghanistan Education, Democracy and a better way of Life, they willfully accepted it and are still waiting for this illusive dead promise from the Dogs of War.

America is only concerned in conduction Opium Business in Afghanistan.

Trust me, the American’s government will gets tired and will eventually leaves Afghan in the near future, because the war in there has wore them down, economically and militarily. Mind you, there is nothing in Afghanistan that could benefit American’s economy whether in short or long term, and as you know American’s government hates to be involve in a situation when there is no large profit to be made at the end.

When they started the war, they thought they could get rid of the Taliban in a short period of time and then get on with other businesses, but it turned out to be the opposite, 7 years into the war and Taliban’s morale and number are strengthen by the days, and the so called “coalitions” are losing soldiers every day, not to mention the large number of innocent Afghani children and women causality.

The American has created a dire situation which they now have no idea how to sort it out or even get themselves out of it.
I think it’d be good idea to get rid of as much Taliban as possible and then apply the same peace formula that was used in the Irish conflict.


I still believe, education is very important to change such mind sets, and teach people how to challenge and learn the know-how and skills to improve their lives standard. It’s the Afghani’s government responsibility to work twice as hard to spread education and make their people believe there is alterative and better ways than war and violence.

Things are not as good as Yankees wanted as everybody will be able to be granted by US citizenship and a big zinc box free of charge...

http://www.libdemvoice.org/us-soldiers- ... 11390.html

The French has been doing it for ages- the Legend Army comes to mind.

Here is what puzzles me about the US foreign policy. I don’t understand why the US can’t just stop trying to police the world, stop supporting one country at the expense of others, and stop creating internal fraction within countries’ political groups.

I mean for goodness sake, they’d be better off with just being a fair broker, they’ll still be the richest country without even selling weapons. The US is more advance in most things than any other countries in the world, so it has the potential to do wonder on non-weaponry inventions.

It’s destroying itself by its naïve and adventurous foreign policy. I honestly can’t recall a war that the US hasn't been involved in it, I wonder if the US could ever learn to live war-free.

Humbleman wrote:I mean for goodness sake, they’d be better off with just being a fair broker.

As you know American’s government hates to be involve in a situation when there is no large profit to be made at the end.

how come america is the richest when world bank and imf reports show the country with biggest depth ?


xl

Red Chief wrote:

Humbleman wrote:I mean for goodness sake, they’d be better off with just being a fair broker.

As you know American’s government hates to be involve in a situation when there is no large profit to be made at the end.

That’s true.
They ought to change their mind-set and take on a different approach. Their current approach is no doubt has been detrimental to their competitiveness in the 21st.

i hope the taliban keep on kicking some yankee doodle asses

america is in a huge pile of crap. no wonder its allowing NATO to share its crimes in afghanistan cos they know they are in shit.

talibanis are clever though. they knew they couldnt shoot their planes down. so they waited and waited for the first american to put its foot on the afghan soil and BANG. more and more ppl die afghanistan, more sympathy and more support the taliban will achieve.

rudeboy wrote:talibanis are clever though. they knew they couldnt shoot their planes down. so they waited and waited for the first american to put its foot on the afghan soil and BANG. more and more ppl die afghanistan, more sympathy and more support the taliban will achieve.

clever ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

they r just flesh bags programmed with certain rules like asimov's robotic laws. lemme tell u 2 of them.

1. fight to death against all "infidels".
2. force new islamic laws invented by their leaders and if people don't agree, kill them.

US, on other end, cannot even think of losing. they just go on playing the game, which they cannot win. they just want to control rich ME, which is in the hands of brainless people.

in short, both evil ends will fight until one gets tired. in the end when pages will be flipped back, they'll c that they just lost and gained nothing.

gafoorgk wrote:

rudeboy wrote:talibanis are clever though. they knew they couldnt shoot their planes down. so they waited and waited for the first american to put its foot on the afghan soil and BANG. more and more ppl die afghanistan, more sympathy and more support the taliban will achieve.

clever ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

they r just flesh bags programmed with certain rules like asimov's robotic laws. lemme tell u 2 of them.

1. fight to death against all "infidels".
2. force new islamic laws invented by their leaders and if people don't agree, kill them.

US, on other end, cannot even think of losing. they just go on playing the game, which they cannot win. they just want to control rich ME, which is in the hands of brainless people.

in short, both evil ends will fight until one gets tired. in the end when pages will be flipped back, they'll c that they just lost and gained nothing.

theres not a huge difference between the saudis and the talibans. they both are "conservative" muslims. only difference is saudis have oil and are good "allies" of USA. Taliban dont have oil, they have opium and they have minerals and gas and not keen on becoming USA allies.

1. fight to death against all "infidels".
2. force new islamic laws invented by their leaders and if people don't agree, kill them.

These points you mentioned above are practised by guys such as osama bin ladin who happens to be a saudi. I dont see USA attacking KSA? Y? we all know why they wont.

1. Islam does say you should fight against all "infidels" as long as there are certain conditions.

2. They didnt force NEW islamic laws. They want to go according to the SHARIA law. Laws similiar to those in Sharjah and even in KSA.

u have a completely wrong pov. i'll not argue on that as i tried the same with many arabs here. they are more likely to take the sword than listening and thinking.

but lemme comment on your points

1. islam NEVER said to fight against infidels. islam DID say to explain religious beliefs to non-believers and INVITE them. islam is saying to FIGHT ONLY WHEN the very existence of islam and it's believers is threatened by others.

2. taliban DID force new laws. what do u think are they doing when force a woman to wear abaya and when she didn't agree, she got killed. this is just one type of incident. islam NEVER said to kill someone for not wearing abaya or many other things taliban is practicing.

gafoorgk wrote:u have a completely wrong pov. i'll not argue on that as i tried the same with many arabs here. they are more likely to take the sword than listening and thinking.

but lemme comment on your points

1. islam NEVER said to fight against infidels. islam DID say to explain religious beliefs to non-believers and INVITE them. islam is saying to FIGHT ONLY WHEN the very existence of islam and it's believers is threatened by others.

2. taliban DID force new laws. what do u think are they doing when force a woman to wear abaya and when she didn't agree, she got killed. this is just one type of incident. islam NEVER said to kill someone for not wearing abaya or many other things taliban is practicing.

1. yes i agree with you that islam is saying to fight only when the very existence of islam and its believers is threatened by others. is this not happening in afghanistan? when your country is occupied will you not fight and defend your country? is it not true that the red cross is converting muslims to christians and that they will only help them once converted??

2. ok. KSA forces its women to wear abaya and if she doesnt wear it she is punished. yes taliban did force its women to wear abayas but did they really kill a woman because she wasnt wearing an abaya? plz dont post any western propoganda. she will not be killed but will be punished in the same way a woman will be punished in KSA.

To Rude,

I don't know current situation, but AFAIK there are a lot of nationalities in Afganistan and Pashto ppl are not even the major one.

So
1) Is Talliban Pashto organization?
2) What situation with ppl who speaks Dari there? Do they support Talliban?

gafoorgk wrote:u have a completely wrong pov. i'll not argue on that as i tried the same with many arabs here. they are more likely to take the sword than listening and thinking.

but lemme comment on your points

1. islam NEVER said to fight against infidels. islam DID say to explain religious beliefs to non-believers and INVITE them. islam is saying to FIGHT ONLY WHEN the very existence of islam and it's believers is threatened by others.

2. taliban DID force new laws. what do u think are they doing when force a woman to wear abaya and when she didn't agree, she got killed. this is just one type of incident. islam NEVER said to kill someone for not wearing abaya or many other things taliban is practicing.

Very accurate

Taliban are bunch of nutters and ignorant, they are primitive in their thinking and beliefs.

The reason why they’ve lately gained some support is mainly because of the fact that the US and its allies have killed so many innocent Afghanis, this has stemmed hatred and sense of revenge toward the US and its allies.

Every time an innocent Afghani gets killed, 10 extremists immediately born, do the math

Humbleman wrote:The reason why they’ve lately gained some support is mainly because of the fact that the US and its allies have killed so many innocent Afghanis, this has stemmed hatred and sense of revenge toward the US and its allies.

Every time an innocent Afghani gets killed, 10 extremists immediately born, do the math

true. unfortunately many fail to c this obvious part.

Red Chief wrote:To Rude,

I don't know current situation, but AFAIK there are a lot of nationalities in Afganistan and Pashto ppl are not even the major one.

So
1) Is Talliban Pashto organization?
2) What situation with ppl who speaks Dari there? Do they support Talliban?

red chief.

1. yes it is a pashto organization
2. ppl who speak dari in afghanistan happen to be the Tajik. The tajik hate the taliban because they support the Northern Alliance which happens to be a Tajik organisation. so common sense really taliban members or supporters will not support the tajik and vice versa. USA only came into afghanistan because of the northern alliance. by offering them money and weapons they were able to fight together against the talibans.

most of the northern alliance is governered by warlords. think of them as governors but they have their own army made up of group of men and old USSR tanks. these guys dont care about anything only MONEY.

so if you happen to be a taliban VIP with lots of money you can bribe them to fight with u against the americans.

or if you happen to be a RICH saudi you can pay them to protect you and even find you an escape route.

basically these guys have not ethics or morals. they dont care who they support or who is in power as long as they get their money.

like i said most of them wont support the taliban in black and white. but if they were offered huge amount of money they would certainly fight with the taliban. thats why usa is in a mess and till today they havent been able to find bin ladin.

Humbleman wrote:

gafoorgk wrote:u have a completely wrong pov. i'll not argue on that as i tried the same with many arabs here. they are more likely to take the sword than listening and thinking.

but lemme comment on your points

1. islam NEVER said to fight against infidels. islam DID say to explain religious beliefs to non-believers and INVITE them. islam is saying to FIGHT ONLY WHEN the very existence of islam and it's believers is threatened by others.

2. taliban DID force new laws. what do u think are they doing when force a woman to wear abaya and when she didn't agree, she got killed. this is just one type of incident. islam NEVER said to kill someone for not wearing abaya or many other things taliban is practicing.

Very accurate

Taliban are bunch of nutters and ignorant, they are primitive in their thinking and beliefs.

The reason why they’ve lately gained some support is mainly because of the fact that the US and its allies have killed so many innocent Afghanis, this has stemmed hatred and sense of revenge toward the US and its allies.

Every time an innocent Afghani gets killed, 10 extremists immediately born, do the math

please provide evidence to show that these talibans are bunch of nutters and ignorant? i believe they are abit extreme but arent the saudis extreme as well? they have a strict culture where they believe in parda. is this wrong?

The Taliban’s cunning takes West by surprise


A summer of heavy fighting during which Western military leaders had hoped to seize the initiative from Islamic militants has instead revealed an insurgency capable of employing complex new tactics and fighting across a broad swath of Afghanistan.

Over the last three months, insurgents have exacted the most punishing casualty tolls on Western forces since the Afghan war began nearly seven years ago. Numbers of foreign troops killed have exceeded U.S. military deaths in Iraq.

Western field commanders readily acknowledge that the Taliban and loosely allied militants learn from failures as well as successes. When Taliban fighters noticed that Western forces were jamming the signals insurgents used to detonate roadside bombs, they switched back to pressure plates that would be set off by the weight of a passing convoy.

Through the careful choice of targets, tactics and technology, the militants appeared to frequently catch Western commanders and their Afghan allies by surprise. They have defied expectations that they would avoid full assaults on major Western bases.

NATO troops are now crying like lost babies to go home, they are utterly frustrated with this un winnable war in Afghanistan.