Is the US mulling a return to Afghanistan after leaving it in such unseemly haste in Aug 2021? Remarks by President Trump do not explicitly say that and his act of imposing a 10% tariff on imports from that benighted country suggest he takes a dim view of the Taliban leadership.
But Maj. Gen Sanjay Meston (Retd), India’s former defence attache in Kabul from 2011-14, believes otherwise. In a conversation on The Gist he said:
“The US is contemplating a return to Afghanistan … but there will be no boots on the ground … and they definitely want the embassy in Kabul and the consuiates up and running.” But how and why?
The US has been talking directly to the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, for some time, quietly and behind the scenes, Gen Meston said, and their main push is for a broad-based government in Kabul. They want people not part of the Taliban or the Haqqani network, with administrative and other experience to join the ruling dispensation.
Add to that the $10 million bounty on the head of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister, has been lifted along with the bounty on two others. Presumably, this gives the Haqqanis incentive to go along with the US and reports indicate they are keen on lifting restrictions on women and so on.
US motives have never been driven by altruism and Washington’s aim is two fold: get a stake in Afghanistan’s estimated $4 trillion worth of rare and critical minerals that remain largely untapped, and counter China which currently seems to have free play there.
“The overall strategy is to undermine or counter Chinese influence anywhere,” noted Gen Meston, “and they are doing it directly with the Taliban and the Haqqanis, not with Pakistan, Pakistan is not on their strategic radar.”
Meston believes that any US return to Afghanistan would be of help to India’s overall strategy towards that land-locked country. India needs to dialogue with the US on this issue and be open to partnering with the US firms as and when Uncle Sam puts up his flag there.
Tune in for more in this conversation with Maj Gen Sanjay Meston (Retd), former defence attache in Kabul.
