US Ambassador To Afghanistan Against Escalation

Karl W. Eikenberry, he say No!

General Eikenberry crossed paths with General McChrystal during his second tour in Afghanistan, when General McChrystal led the military’s Joint Special Operations Command, which conducted clandestine operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Their relationship, a senior military official said last year, was occasionally tense as General McChrystal pushed for approval for commando missions, and General Eikenberry was resistant because of concerns that the missions were too risky and could lead to civilian casualties.

It was unclear whether General Eikenberry, who participated in the Afghanistan policy meeting on Wednesday by video link from Kabul, the Afghan capital, had been asked by the White House to put his views in writing. It was also unclear how persuasive they will be with Mr. Obama.

It’s almost as if this quagmire is in trouble… Malalai Joya makes it clear, there is not an ideal solution that is without bloodshed, but the occupation is not a solution it is part of the problem-

“Eight years ago, the U.S. and NATO—under the banner of women’s rights, human rights, and democracy—occupied my country and pushed us from the frying pan into the fire,” Joya said by phone from San Francisco. “Eight years is enough to know better about the corrupt, mafia system of [President] Hamid Karzai.”

Pressed on what she thinks would happen if NATO did withdraw its troops tomorrow, Joya argued that even if the country plunged into deeper violence, the Afghan people would be rid of at least one adversary.

“My people are crushed between two powerful enemies,” she said. “From the sky, occupation forces bomb and kill civilians…and on the ground, the Taliban and warlords continue their crimes.”

Joya noted that even with tens of thousands of troops stationed in Afghanistan, NATO has not been able to bring security to the country. Meanwhile, she said, President Barack Obama has continued the policies of George W. Bush’s administration that prop up warlords as well as Islamic fundamentalists such as Abdul Rab al-Rasul Sayyaf, an Afghan MP that the 9/11 Commission Report tied to the attacks on the U.S.

“It is better that they leave my country; my people are that fed up,” Joya said. “Occupation will never bring liberation, and it is impossible to bring democracy by war.”

Joya expressed appreciation for the support she receives around the world and said that Afghanistan remains in need of international aid. But, she cautioned, there is much that western powers must do before they regain the trust of the Afghan people.

Especially as even supposedly informed people refuse to see one of the factors involved in the war, as well as revenge and wars own mushrooming macho logic (once you are there, you have to achieve victory) the Trans Afghan Pipeline is part of the poisonous mix.