To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
US Stop Supporting Corrupt Pakistan and Afghan Govts
The American people have suffered many times, due to the boomerang effect of misguided US foreign polices in Asia. If it stays in Afghanistan for long-term, this whole region will NEVER see peace, again. Many young Americans will die in the hostile mountainous regions of these Pakistan/Afghanistan for generations to come. Follow President Nixon's precedence in Vietnam cut our losses and leave. We may be trading with a Taliban ruled Afghanistan in the future, like we did with the Viet Cong ruled Vietnam.
The Afghan-Pakistan Pashtuns have a history of 3000 years of defeating all invaders or occupiers, US is no different. Soviets learned this after 10 years and thousands of young lives lost. Afghans and Pakistanis consider US as an outside power, trying to muscle in, through gunboat diplomacy. Simultaneously, US is propping up, the most unpopular cast of civilian dictators in regions history i.e. Presidents Asif Zardari and Hamid Karzai. People of the region are daily subjected to the virus of corruption, let loose not only by these dictators, but also their extended families and proxies in all spheres of economic and political life. Its Vietnam, deja vu, as Yogi Berra would say, “all over again.” This situation has led to exponential growth of regional anti-US sentiments. And then we ask the question, why do they hate us? Let us use our critical skills to analyze the Afghan War. How has this war been self-defeating for the United States? A consequence of US presence is the rise of extremist forces and Iran's influence in this region. The longer we stay, the greater will be the rise of extremism. History has shown this in Vietnam. Our presence creates more enemies than friends. Lets take Afghanistan and Pakistan as an examples. The Taliban portray ISAF Armies as the 21st century crusaders.They find it is very easy to convince the poor, illiterate but extremely religious population of this region, with this argument, and thereby generate recruits for mini-"jihads." We are playing right into the hands of religious extremists and Taliban. Who are our friends? Well, they are the most unpopular and incompetent so-called leaders in the region.
For example, President Asif Zardari, a high school dropout, is squeezing the economic life of Pakistan through cronyism, bribery, nepotism, and rampant corruption. Over 180 million Pakistanis people are being victimized by his dictatorial maladministration and incompetence.President Zardari's ascendence has resulted in a growth industry for crooks and liars in Pakistan. Malik Riaz, a politically well-connected scoundrel, has stolen billions of dollars from Pakistan's treasury through tax fraud and bribery of politicians and bureaucrats. The opposition led by Nawaz Shariff is as corrupt as the current government. Pakistan's Judiciary, the only honest institution, is being hamstrung by US pressure not to try Zardari and his cronies for money laundering. The White House and the US Congress must show leadership and microscopically review Pakistan and Afghanistan Foreign Policy. There needs to be a paradigm shift, according to the wishes of Pakistanis and Afghans, not based on political expediency or irresponsible projection of power. This is a win-win solution for US security interests and the regional nations. US presence in the region past 2014 as outlined by President Obama, will be detrimental to the United States. The Taliban are going nowhere. They have threatened to continue hostilities, if, the US does not completely withdraw from Afghanistan. The hostilities against US allies and proxies past 2014 will continue, if they are perceived as viceroys of US foreign policy. Pashtuns have fought every invader, US is no different. Lets have no more presence in a region of no strategic or security value to the United States. Lets fix our own house, which is in dire need of economic repairs.
The Afghan-Pakistan Pashtuns have a history of 3000 years of defeating all invaders or occupiers, US is no different. Soviets learned this after 10 years and thousands of young lives lost. Afghans and Pakistanis consider US as an outside power, trying to muscle in, through gunboat diplomacy. Simultaneously, US is propping up, the most unpopular cast of civilian dictators in regions history i.e. Presidents Asif Zardari and Hamid Karzai. People of the region are daily subjected to the virus of corruption, let loose not only by these dictators, but also their extended families and proxies in all spheres of economic and political life. Its Vietnam, deja vu, as Yogi Berra would say, “all over again.” This situation has led to exponential growth of regional anti-US sentiments. And then we ask the question, why do they hate us? Let us use our critical skills to analyze the Afghan War. How has this war been self-defeating for the United States? A consequence of US presence is the rise of extremist forces and Iran's influence in this region. The longer we stay, the greater will be the rise of extremism. History has shown this in Vietnam. Our presence creates more enemies than friends. Lets take Afghanistan and Pakistan as an examples. The Taliban portray ISAF Armies as the 21st century crusaders.They find it is very easy to convince the poor, illiterate but extremely religious population of this region, with this argument, and thereby generate recruits for mini-"jihads." We are playing right into the hands of religious extremists and Taliban. Who are our friends? Well, they are the most unpopular and incompetent so-called leaders in the region.
For example, President Asif Zardari, a high school dropout, is squeezing the economic life of Pakistan through cronyism, bribery, nepotism, and rampant corruption. Over 180 million Pakistanis people are being victimized by his dictatorial maladministration and incompetence.President Zardari's ascendence has resulted in a growth industry for crooks and liars in Pakistan. Malik Riaz, a politically well-connected scoundrel, has stolen billions of dollars from Pakistan's treasury through tax fraud and bribery of politicians and bureaucrats. The opposition led by Nawaz Shariff is as corrupt as the current government. Pakistan's Judiciary, the only honest institution, is being hamstrung by US pressure not to try Zardari and his cronies for money laundering. The White House and the US Congress must show leadership and microscopically review Pakistan and Afghanistan Foreign Policy. There needs to be a paradigm shift, according to the wishes of Pakistanis and Afghans, not based on political expediency or irresponsible projection of power. This is a win-win solution for US security interests and the regional nations. US presence in the region past 2014 as outlined by President Obama, will be detrimental to the United States. The Taliban are going nowhere. They have threatened to continue hostilities, if, the US does not completely withdraw from Afghanistan. The hostilities against US allies and proxies past 2014 will continue, if they are perceived as viceroys of US foreign policy. Pashtuns have fought every invader, US is no different. Lets have no more presence in a region of no strategic or security value to the United States. Lets fix our own house, which is in dire need of economic repairs.
Why is this important?
US soldiers continue to die in Afghanistan. As recently as November 16, U.S. Army Sgt. Channing "Bo" Hicks 24, was killed Nov. 1 by an improvised explosive device and small arms fire in Afghanistan. Please STOP this War with No-End, for several hundred years no one has ever truly conquered Afghanistan, or have won a war in Pakistan-Afghanistan region.