Afghanistan Times
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Amid the horrors of war, the United States has overlooked Afghanistan by pulling out its troops. And the fallout is visible all around. This continues to be a year of tumult and heavy violence across the country, where both, civilians and troops are suffering unprecedented casualties. In the first half of the current year, the number of civilians hurt or killed topped 4,921. Hard on the heel of deadliest bombings in Kabul, now a Hollywood style jailbreak has been seen Ghazni province where Taliban freed hundreds of inmates. To arrest the galloping pace of insecurity, the United States needs to slow its pullout speed. Calling Afghanistan still a breeding ground for terror, the US chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he wants American troops to stay back in the war-wracked country. Thornberry, the chairman, said the threat posed by insurgents in the region demands some type of presence similar to what American troops forces left in Germany following World War II. Thornberry has been famous for his tirade against the White House plans to draw down forces from Afghanistan. He visited Afghanistan amid the deteriorating security situation and said his congressional visit strengthened his conviction that a speedy pullout will destabilized the already strained Afghanistan. The pullout of collation troops and the end of their combat mission have affected Afghanistan in two ways, in terms of economy and security. There has been decline in international aid assistance and projects besides security deterioration. Unlike Iraq, Afghanistan has signed a bilateral security agreement with the United States and it cannot simply dump this war-devastated country. When the chaos in Iraq provides an eye-opening precedent how the US could be so oblivious to repeat such a mistake once again here in Afghanistan. Though, the US combat mission officially ended last December, yet it still has 9,800 troops here. The US is spending nearly $60 billion this year on war-related costs. This amount is being spent on war-related costs at such a time when American are serving only in advisory and training roles. The US has wrapped up its air support surveillance capabilities support. One is astonished to see the war-related expenditures and the outcomes on the ground. This year’s war spending is really massive, but why security is deteriorating? Does the US need security policy overhaul? Does it need spending mechanism overhaul? Or it is deliberately providing a window for backflow to the bucks coming to Afghanistan in the name of its security, and reconstruction? Afghanistan’s former President Hamid Karzai and many of his likeminded criticized the United States for security failures in Afghanistan and the culture of endemic corruption. While looking at the US expenditures and the minimal security gains, it wouldn’t be irrational to say the United States has failed in Afghanistan. With the failure of the United States, the failure of Afghanistan is looming larger even though our men in uniform are fighting a toughest war, they are not showing their backs to the enemies, yet the spread of chaos, is a matter of serious concern. Let’s pray the greatest sacrifices of our men in uniform don’t go futile, and we as a nation stand victorious. This victory is not possible only with spirit and intolerance for extremism, but it needs a robust national economy and continued international economic aid and assistance.
