Close to the end of the Cold War Era, the Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan in December 24, 1979 and it ended with taking hundreds of thousands lives and a state that would collapse. After the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan in February 15, 1989, the Berlin Wall collapsed in November 9, 1989 and the Cold War Era ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
With the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Union collapsed and the Warsaw Pact dissolved. When there were not any enemies (the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact) of the West and NATO, the legitimacy of the existence of NATO started to be questioned. At that time, the ones who support NATO, especially the USA and Britain, started to find new enemies. Meanwhile in the NATO summit in 1990, the President of Britain Margaret Thatcher announced that the new color of the enemy was “green”. Furthermore, Bernard Lewis in his article titled “The Roots of Muslim Rage”, which was published in The Monthly Atlantic in September, 1990 argued that Islam was not only in fight with Christianity but with the whole West, called Christendom.
In the 21st century the USA took Samuel Huntington’s “The Clash of Civilizations” as the basis and gave the role of red forces or enemy forces to “the Islam World” instead of “the East Block”. From that day forth, the color of the enemy in the documents on strategic military planning was “green”. Due to this strategy, the anti-American ideas in the Islam world that suffered because of Israel’s occupation of Palestine with the obvious support of the USA increased and the opposition to the USA was at the peak.
The USA held Osama Bin-Laden as responsible for September 11 attacks although the Japanese Red Army took the blame. Because the USA did not believe that the Japanese Red Army, which is an old organization having lost almost its all power could have organized such an organization. Besides, this claim would not be a chance for the USA for some arrangements it had wished to do. In terms of the interest of the USA, Osama Bin-Laden, who is a citizen of Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, where Ladin lived, and the Taliban regime, which received him with open arms there, would be better enemies.
After the September 11 attacks, the USA’s intervention in Afghanistan and then NATO’s intervention in Afghanistan, and the never ending war in the country where there are military forces of more than 40 countries show that a process that is similar to the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan has been going on in this country. While the Afghan resisters were fighting against the Soviet Union, the Westerners that were against the USA and the Soviet Union supported the resistance indirectly. And now it is thought that the Taliban that is fighting against the USA and NATO has been supported indirectly by the powers that are against the USA and NATO.
The President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, who went to Pakistan on March 11, the war in Afghanistan is not merely the wars of Afghans by saying “We do not let the USA and Iran or India and Pakistan fight in Afghanistan”. Before Karzai’s statement, 3 people targeted a guesthouse in Kabul (3th March, 2010). There were Indian citizens in the targeted guesthouse. Due to the attack, 16 people were dead and 9 of them were Indian citizens. According to the statement of Afghan Intelligence Service speaker Seyid Ensari, the suicide attack was organized by “Lesker-i Tayibe” that is tied to the Pakistani army; the attackers were talking Urdu among themselves; and they knew the names of significant guests at the guesthouse.
Before this attack, there happened a more violent attack just opposite the Embassy of India in 2008.
After 9 Indian citizens died on 3rd March in Afghanistan, Undersecretary of Indian Security Şioşenker Menun visited this country. During his visit Menun met the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai and presented the President of India Manmohan Singh to Karzai. Improving the historical friendship between Afghanistan and India and the bilateral relations, and India’s playing active role in reconstructing Afghanistan and the security in the region were mentioned on the letter.
The tension between India and Pakistan has been going on since the 1947s. The tension between two countries concerns not only the region but also Europe and the USA. Providing peace and tranquility in Afghanistan is thought to be the key to both countries.
The two countries fought for three times in 63 years. Upon its independence, the conflict over Kashmir region still goes on. The peace negotiations between India and Pakistan were suspended for 15 months after the terrorist attacks organized in Mumbai, India and caused at least 160 people to die.
In consideration of the attitudes of India and Pakistan on Afghanistan issue, after the Western states realized that Afghanistan would choose to have a dialogue with the Taliban, Pakistan had a great role in negotiations. Getting anxious about Pakistan’s having more authority in Afghanistan, India is against the negotiations with the Taliban. (1)
As it is known, for the solution of the problems in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran are the most influential countries among their neighbors. In an era of tension between Iran and the USA, Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, witnessed one of the greatest political debates in the last years. While Robert Gates, the United States Secretary of Defense, was a guest in Kabul, another surprising guest was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran. “NATO cannot bring peace to Afghanistan” said Ahmadinejad, as soon as he arrived. And Gates considered Ahmadinejad’s Kabul’s visit as “an annoying situation”.
Considering Iran’s role in the region, the United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who visited Afghanistan on 8th March, said, “Iran chooses to play a binary role in Afghanistan. Iran supports Afghan government and on the other hand, Iran tries to undermine the efforts of the USA and NATO by supporting the Taliban”.
Gates severely warned Iran because of its support of the Taliban by saying “As long as Iran continues to play unfriendly, it should know how our reactions will be”.
Two days after Gates’ visit to Afghanistan, Ahmadinejad met the President of Afghanistan Hamdi Karzai on 10th March in Kabul. In his public statement with Karzai in Kabul, he said “The existence of foreign powers in Afghanistan is not a solution for peace in Afghanistan. The solution lies in the legal Afghan government. Iran has not played a negative role in losing stability in Afghanistan. Iran supports both the Afghans and their government. The expense of the foreign soldiers in Afghanistan is annually $100 million and if 20% of this amount, which is $20 million, was given to the Afghan government, all the political and economic problems in the country would be solved. They want to be the masters of the Afghan people; yet these people do not let them do this. Afghanistan resisted against the occupations in the past and responded accordingly. I am sure that they will again respond accordingly”. (2)
Turned into a battle field for the USA and Iran or for India and Pakistan or for the other countries not mentioned, Afghanistan is almost like a test area of the struggles of the international and regional powers. Considering the significant issues in the 1978s, who are we, as the Afghan people, fighting for in Afghanistan? Like the well known political and thought-provoking saying, the ones fighting on their own land cannot be good warriors. This saying is very meaningful for the Afghans and requires us to think about the issue more. Many countries try to maintain the war in Afghanistan in order to keep the war away from their lands. Although it is too late for the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai to say “We do not let the USA and Iran or India and Pakistan fight in Afghanistan.” after the war going on more than 30 years, as the Afghan saying points out “Fish is fresh when you take it out of water”. And now it is expected that the Afghans will analyze the balances in the world; become successful if they make future plans and programs according to these balances; and save their people from this merciless war and sufferings.
Khalilullah Rasuli, SDE Specialist
(1) http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5286886,00.html.22.03.2010.
(2)http://www.israhaber.com/ahmedinejad-afgan-halki-abd-nin-agaligina-musaade-etmez-8738-haberi.html.22.03.2010.