The US Tactical and Political Reduction of forces in Afghanistan
By: Saifullah Mustanir*

The Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani, has said in a Davos World Economic Forum, that the Afghan government will face no problems after the foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan; however, should these negotiations continue with Taliban instead of his government, this war can enter a new phase.

If we closely monitor the process of the US-Taliban peace negotiations, President Ghani's government has found itself in front of the closed doors only and does not have any access to the slightest piece of credible information on the status of these negotiations. While President Ghani is using every mean to gain access to the negotiation table, the situation is so griefful that prior to the cancelation of the previous series of peace negotiations, Zalmai Khalilzad, the US special envoy for the peace talks, had only allowed President Ghani to read from a printed copy of the drafted peace deal borrowed to him for a few minutes. This in fact is due to the fact that the Americans have the least trust over its puppets in Kabul and the Afghan government has not yet recognized the true nature of colonialism, where a puppet is never allowed to have a say in major issues.

In the Donald Trump's proposed program, a number of US troops will withdraw from Afghanistan until the US 2020 elections; 4000 of which will withdraw in the first phase. This is all due to the fact that the Afghanistan war has turned into a bleeding wound and the longest US war in history. The increasing public resentment both in and out of the United States is growing against the Afghanistan war and the American public considers this war nothing but a failure and an absurd mission. Therefore, the United States aims at the reduction of its forces in Afghanistan to conceal its defeat in one hand and achieve an electoral victory for President Trump in another.

The American plan to reduce its troops in Afghanistan is a political maneuver, so to have no direct relations with the ongoing peace talks, otherwise, this will be considered as a US defeat in Afghanistan. Thus, we occasionally hear the American politicians denying the co-relationship between the troops withdrawal and the peace talks. This is why Mark Espier, the US Secretary of Defense, announced that the troops withdrawal from Afghanistan is not in response to the negotiations, whether or not the peace talks are underway.

Therefore, there is no contradiction between the President Ghani's statement over the US troops withdrawal and his masters'. He is much smaller than being able to decide or comment over the nature of the troops withdrawal. President Ghani and his team are in fact in a real worry over this withdrawal and their own survival in a post withdrawal Afghanistan, because the Afghan forces are incapable of conducting any military operations, should the American financial and military support go dry.

However, Ashraf Ghani in one hand tries to support the US troops' withdrawal in order to have closer ties with Donald Trump - for receiving favors - but in another, he wants these withdrawals to be coordinated with his government, ensuring his grip on power in a post US invaded Afghanistan, while in fact his first presidential act was to sign the bi-lateral security agreement within 24 hours of his presidency in office to ensure his power, and now claims to face no problem after they withdraw troops?

The undoubted reality is that the Afghan Muslim people resent the American presence in Afghanistan and try in every possible way to drive them out and bring this invasion into an end. The only group of people, who are furious of this withdrawal are made up of the ones, who have come to power due to the invasion. These are the same technocrats and those secularists who have returned from the Western countries and are in control of major positions in this government, and loot people's resources. They have earned no respect amongst the people for themselves and have no political or and public support in the country.

As a result, we can only predict a political and tactical withdrawal of the foreign troops from Afghanistan. This, however, in no means will result in a complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, no matter what the given title is. It is due to the fact that the United States of America will not replace the Afghan geo-strategic location with anything. The only possible mean that can force the US to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan and can put an end to its crimes against humanity is the march of the Muslim armies under Khilafah (Caliphate).

* Director of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Afghanistan
* Written for Ar-Rayah Newspaper – Issue 272