Daily Times

US President Donald Trump delivered his much awaited address outlining the ‘new’ US strategy on Afghanistan. In a halting and stuttering manner, he displayed a total reversal of his long-held objection to the very idea of having a US military presence in the country. Trump’s rationale was that “decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the oval office. In other words, when you are president of the United States. He claims that he has studied Afghanistan in great detail and from every conceivable angle. His contention was that after many meetings over many months, he held his final meeting on August 18 at Camp David with his cabinet and generals to complete the US strategy. It is surprising that on the eve of Trump’s huddle at Camp David, he sacked his chief strategist Steve Bannon.

As Trump unveiled his ‘strategy’, it became evident that by announcing another troop surge of US forces in Afghanistan without a defined timeline for their departure, or the methodology of their deployment or how he expects to deliver on his promise of winning the war; his mangled and obscured policy was an assertion that his strategy was to have no publicly-stated strategy at all.

The government is focusing on saving the ousted Prime Minister and his family from corruption cases being filed against them, thus little or no attention has been paid to Trump’s uncalled for admonitions

Trump’s typical stance of taking 180° turns on nearly all his election campaign promises continues. It has become apparent that in a quixotic manner, the US President is tilting against windmills when he declares “We are not nation-building again, we are killing terrorists.”

Trump pilloried Pakistan, stating that in the past, Pakistan has been a valued partner. The two militaries have worked together against common enemies. Acknowledging that the Pakistani people have suffered greatly from terrorism and extremism, he stated that the US recognises those contributions and those sacrifices, but warned that Pakistan has also sheltered the same organisations that try every single day to kill Americans. He claimed that the US has been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars, and at the same time Pakistan is housing the terrorists that the US is fighting. He claimed that no partnership can survive a country’s harboring of militants and terrorists who target US service members and officials. He asserted that it is time for Pakistan to demonstrate its commitment to civilization, order, and to peace. Without stating the coercive steps that will be taken to pressurise Pakistan, he simply fired broadsides against Pakistan.

Pakistan has been rattled by the shots fired by Trump across its bow. The government is focusing on saving the ousted Prime Minister and his family from the corruption cases being filed against them, thus little or no attention has been paid to Trump’s uncalled for admonitions. Once again filling the vacuum, the Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had to spell out to the US Ambassador to Islamabad, David Hale: “Pakistan does not want material or financial assistance from the US, but needs to be trusted and treated with respect,” when the latter called on him at Rawalpindi.

In fact Trump, while appreciating India’s important contributions to stability in Afghanistan, asserting that India makes billions of dollars in trade with the United States, demanded that the US wants India to help more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development. Trump gave the kiss of death to Modi and his cronies, when he pronounced India to be a strategic partner of the US in Afghanistan. The Taliban will now perceive India to be its arch enemy in tandem with the US and will feel justified in targeting Indians in Afghanistan. India prides on being called a sovereign state but Trump has identified US relationship with India as transactional. That is most deriding that India has been asked to “do more” along with Pakistan. India hated being affixed with Af-Pak but now it will have to face the ignominy of becoming the suffix to “Af-Pak-India”.

The US president should realise that Pakistan too has a number of arrows in its quiver, which can be fired when required. Pakistan had once blocked the crucial supply line for the US-led NATO forces in 2011 in the wake of killing of its 24 soldiers by US forces near the Pak-Afghan border at Salala check post. Pakistan can choke the Ground Lines of Communication and block the logistic supply to its troops in Afghanistan. Trump would be better served not to scapegoat Pakistan but give it due respect.

The writer is a retired Group Captain of PAF. He is a columnist, analyst and TV talk show host, who has authored six books on current affairs, including three on China

Published in Daily Times, August 26^th 2017.