Atilla A. Iftikhar, 10 February 2008

on Half-hearted on the Hindu Kush, by Peter Münch

NATO is on the brink of failure in Afghanistan mainly because such a military alliance can never solve or adequatly reduce the ills of the country. What Afghanistan needs is a civilian mission, where most of the attention, resources and manpower can be put into civilian prospect, not into a military machinery. Some 300.000 Soviet soldiers lost the battle of Afghanistan in the 1980s and presently the ca. 50.000 NATO troops can impossibly accomplish better results. NATO is seen an alien and intruding force in Afghanistan and this impression coupled with the inherent fallacies of the alliance, and the Karzai administration is making it only a matter of time before NATO has to switch its mindset and pull out of the country. An international civilian effort for rebuilding Afghanistan, led by a true civilian mission and regional countries, is the only solution for the ills. In this context, Germany should advocate for this change, not continue on a path of more destruction and misery.

With regards

Atilla A. Iftikhar

Researcher, Islamabad