Fifth columnists
David Blackburn 9:02am
The Afghan police were supposed to be layabout drug addicts and petty crooks, but that the force has been infiltrated by murderous, cowardly fifth columnists has concentrated Westminster minds. Current strategy in Afghanistan is failing.
Paddy Ashdown’s is one of the most distinct voices on Afghanistan; and although he resembles a crazed Cockleshell hero when in full flow, he provides much needed clarity. In an op-ed in this morning’s Times, he writes:
‘It is at the political, not the military, level that we are failing. And if we did not have enough problems already, we now have a Government in Kabul whose legitimacy has been fatally damaged and for whom respect has reached a new low. The international community invested hugely in blood and treasure in the recent elections, but only the Taliban have taken a dividend from them.
One might deal with the problem of the legitimacy of Karzai by making him matter less, through shifting our emphasis from national institutions to local ones. We have been trying to make a Western-style centralised government work in a country whose traditions have been local and tribal for 1,000 years. There are local elections next year. Could we turn the present Karzai problem into an opportunity, by rebalancing the government of Afghanistan away from Kabul and towards more local structures?’
There can be no doubt now that the coalition is seen by some as an occupation force, propping up an unpopular central government, the continuation of a historical narrative extending back to the 1970s. Yet Nato repeats its mistake like Gordon Brown trots out tractor statistics. Localism, not centralism, is the route to securing lasting security, and will not require such reliance on a corrupt central police force. Karzai’s success, and indeed aspects of the Taliban’s success, is instructive – bribing and flattering unsavoury local warlords is Afghanistan’s political currency. Nato must acknowledge that it is not dealing with the political culture of the Home Counties and apply Afghan solutions.
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Jez
November 5th, 2009 9:21am Report this commentCould we take at face value that Paddy hasn't got a job at the moment?
Ken
November 5th, 2009 9:24am Report this comment"Nato must acknowledge that it is not dealing with the political culture of the Home Counties and apply Afghan solutions".
Far better that Nato should have regard to the plentiful lessons of history in that region and bring all troops home without further delay. Pipe dream democracy will not be imposed on the Afghans.
Leave them to get on with their own lives.
The Puppet Master
November 5th, 2009 9:51am Report this commentI think the main problem is that they don't like foreign armies in their country, talking about the right kind of government structure is ridiculous.
I suppose we'll have to bring home a few hundred more bodies before that realisation sets in. There is no outside solution which will work, because the Afghans don't want it to.
mac
November 5th, 2009 9:59am Report this comment"a crazed cockleshell hero".
Don't coin red-toppish phrases for effect please Mr Blackburn. The 1942 Op FRANKTON canoeists were extremely brave, not crazed.
Geoff Miller
November 5th, 2009 10:17am Report this commentWe are so hopelessly muddled on this.
The big picture is that Islam is waging a war on the West, openly and by stealth.
We on the other hand think that if we are nice to them then they will be nice to us.
Pathetic.
Unless we clean out the stables it will get much worse very soon.
The biggest threat is the burgeoning Muslim populations in Europe and America.
If we do not rid ourselves then we are lost.
Moraymint
November 5th, 2009 10:20am Report this commentWe Brits are brilliant at making military defeat a glorious chapter in our history.
I fear that we may need to grasp the nettle sooner rather than later, start the process of withdrawing from Afghanistan, take all steps to secure our national borders ... and use ongoing, low-key, high-tech, special forces-type operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere to harass the bad guys to the ends of the earth. Play them at their own game.
You never know, it might work.
For sure, getting our men shot in cold blood by their Afghan "mates" ain't going to work.
David Ossitt
November 5th, 2009 10:38am Report this commentLet us get this straight there will never be a win-win end to the Afghanistan war.
We should not be there, the reasons that we are given are spurious, and the Afghan people are made up of a great number of primitive tribes who still adhere to the life style that existed for them in the Middle Ages.
We must not, should not and will not be able to change their beliefs and opinions.
We must bring the troops home now; because we will eventually, in any event.
Colin
November 5th, 2009 11:23am Report this commentA good way to force the government into action on this would be:
The next time one of our regime leaders goes to Afghanistan, have him or her guarded by a member of the ANA or the ANP. That will concentrate the mind nicely.
In2minds
November 5th, 2009 11:39am Report this commentPaddy Ashdown - “although he resembles a crazed Cockleshell hero when in full flow”, yeah, he's a nutter.
I like his comment “Afghanistan could be lost in the bars of Britain”, how awful that ordinary people should voice their opinions. Just think how much better it would be if everything was left to the 'experts'. Oh Paddy you are so clever!
Austin Barry
November 5th, 2009 12:59pm Report this commentGeoff Miller:
"The big picture is that Islam is waging a war on the West, openly and by stealth."
Islam is not fixated by the West. It is waging war against the Kuffar everywhere: Thailand, China, the Philippines, Nigeria etc. etc.
I do wish our leaders would show a bit more backbone and resistance to the relentless advance of Team Caliphate.
Our elite's current enervated stance of "Don't worry chums we have nothing to lose but our foreskins" will be, quite literally, the death of us.
dilys
November 5th, 2009 3:54pm Report this comment"a crazed cockleshell hero" ... and what have you done for your country David Blackburn?
.... .... ......
November 5th, 2009 6:45pm Report this commentEven someone with a cabbage in their head would instinctively know....DON'T TRAIN YOUR ENEMY TO FIGHT YOU AND LIVE NEXT TO HIM WHILE YOU DO!!!!!!!!
I DEMAND to kinow who ordered the troops to carry out these suicide missions?????
HELLO FRASER!!!!!DO YOUR JOB!!!!FIND OUT!!!!
How mad do you reckon I am???
Stuff Europe....do some REAL LIFE stories. We will still be in Europe and Afghanistan tomorrow and we should be getting out of one QUICKER than the other.The media say they are on the side of the troops...BLOODY WELL PROVE IT THEN!!!!!
Ian Walker
November 5th, 2009 7:11pm Report this commentLord Ashdown was excellent on GMTV this morning, patiently stating the reasons why we cannot leave Afghanistan.
As well as the oft-mentioned stabillity of Pakistan (and do those people wanting "our boys" home really want a nuclear-armed Al-Quaeda?) he also pointed out that there is conflict within Islam between the moderates and the jihadis, and that the moderates are slowly winning that fight, but for NATO to pull out of Afghanistan would be a huge setback for them.
Most worryingly, he ascertained that if we pull out of Afghanistan, the US will almost certainly leave NATO, meaning that we'll be reliant on a European Defence Force for mutual protection. Want to be part of a federal EU? Then call for an Afghan withdrawal.
And try and avoid London on the day the nuclear suicide bomber comes to town.
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