Trump’s new Afghanistan policy unmasks Pakistan

After eight months in office, President Donald J Trump finally unveiled his much-awaited Afghanistan policy at Fort Myers on August 21, 2017, stressing that ensuring security, peace and prosperity in Afghanistan and beyond assumes one of the most important foreign policy priorities of his administration.

In this context, before we examine the tenets of Trump’s Afghanistan policy, it will be appropriate for us to recall that since former US President George W Bush launched a war on terror in Afghanistan in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks, the situation in the mountainous country has remained bleak. In fact, Barack Obama’s decision to set a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan and his administration’s talks with the Taliban without consulting even the Afghanistan government emboldened terrorist activities in the country. This can be understood from the fact that the Afghan Taliban has succeeded in controlling half the territory in Afghanistan.

As a Presidential candidate, Trump’s stress on complete withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan compounded the uncertainty over the US approach towards Afghanistan. Therefore, when Trump announced the new strategy for the war in Afghanistan; he received praise from the Afghanistan government.

One reason for this is the fact that President Trump will deploy more troops in Afghanistan without fixing a timeline for the return of US forces. Trump said, “from now on victory will have a clear definition: Attacking our enemies, obliterating ISIS, crushing al- Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over Afghanistan, and stopping mass terrorist attacks against America before they emerge.” Sure, Trump’s plan will help boost the morale of Afghan armed forces and enhance the sense of security in the country. The increased presence of US forces will also work as a deterrent against terrorist organisations in Afghanistan, which were waiting to unsettle the civilian government since the announcement of troops’ withdrawal by Obama.

In an unprecedented move, President Trump became, perhaps, the first US top leader to openly say that “Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror.” He further states that the US can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organisations, the Taliban and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond, and therefore “the next pillar” of the strategy is to change the approach in how to deal with Pakistan. In this regard,  two statements of Trump need to be mentioned: First, his saying that in the past, Pakistan has been a valued partner is clear indication of the fact that the new US administration does not consider Pakistan its non-NATO ally any longer. The second, Trump’s preference to India over Pakistan to contribute to stability in Afghanistan.

Certainly, given former President George W Bush’s lukewarm approach towards India on the Afghanistan issue and the flip-flop in Obama’s approach on the same issue, Trump’s new strategy is a welcoming development for India, because this move is not only a candid acceptance of India as a regional and global power, but it will also help India increase its strategic depth in Afghanistan. Though India has already made a huge investment in building the basic infrastructure and other sectors of Afghanistan, the prospect of deepening ties between India and the US will depend on the extent President Trump translates his statement into action to clip the terror wings of Pakistan.

The author is a foreign policy analyst