Invasion of Afghanistan and the Scrapheap Of History

The neocolonialist venture in Afhanistan is now fated to be perceived as a confused folly. This is why the WikiLeaks exposé has proved so devastating, as the revelations strike at the very foundation of both the “moral” basis of the war and the ambiguous motives that are now used to justify it.
In attacking “terrorism” and simultaneously engaging in “counter-insurgency,” the US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan have become a perpetrator of what they are fighting. Worse yet, a feeling of imperial revival has also become part of the picture, and not only among Afghans. This sense of imperial occupation has transformed the supposed solution to the problem of terror in Afghanistan into the problem itself.

And if the muddle of motives in Afghanistan is not bad enough, there is Pakistan to add to the confusion. Without Pakistan as a strategic partner to provide land, resources, and military support, operations in Afghanistan would be confounded further. But Pakistani support clearly comes at a high price. The US “buys” an ally in Pakistan that dictates the terms of its collaboration, and simultaneously guards its flanks by keeping open its channels of communication to the Taliban. This, however, is an entirely understandable precaution by Pakistan, whose government, like every other government in the region, must be prepared for the day when the US and NATO withdraw from Afghanistan with their tails between their legs.