Marine Offensive Will Test New Strategy in Afghanistan

The turnout in the current election was very low with widespread accusations of fraud. Neither Karzai or Abdullah (Tajik origin) represent the majority population. Supporting the Tajik opponent Dr. Abdullah Abdullah is like going from frying pan to fire as neither represent the Afghan majority. We need to abandon the policy of allowing 20% Tajik Minority (Northern Alliance) with token Pashtun Karzai in Afghanistan to rule over the majority 70% Pashtun population. To achieve this goal we need the inclusion of Pashtuns in the Government, Politics, Army, Police, and Security Forces etc. There has been no census in Afghanistan for the past three decades. The policy of having this minority rule over the majority is providing Pashtun recruits to extremism and also destabilizing Pakistan that has a 20% Pashtun population of its own of which a large percentage serve in Pakistani Armed forces. Our goals should look at American long-term interest rather than Iranian, Indian or Northern Alliance long-term interest. We are not in the region to get rid of Iranian foes on their Eastern border or to prop up their allies The Northern Aliance rule on majority Pashtuns in Afghanistan or to suppress Kashmiri Freedom movement for India. The west has won the cold war against the Soviet Union on the backs of Afghan/Pakiastan(mainly Pashtun) people and we need support a true democracy which is to include the disenfranchised Pashtun population back into the fold. We need to have a American solution that looks after our national interests and stop listening to elements in our media that are acting as mouthpieces of Indian agenda that want to blame everything on Pakistan who is itself suffering both economically and militarily because of being our ally. Kashmir today remains the crux of the problem between India and Pakistan. We cannot convince Pakistanis to ignore their Eastern border when they have seen their larger Eastern neighbor gobble up smaller neighbors like Hyderabad, Goa, Junagarh and Kashmir and broken up Pakistan in 1971 into 2 parts thru military force. It was only after Pakistan got the nuclear deterrent that the two countries did not have war. There have been more than 100,000 civilian deaths in Indian Kashmir at the hands of Indian forces. Kashmiri Freedom movement is an indigenous freedom movement. We need Kashmir back on Richard Holdrooks agenda. One big confidence building measure between the 2 countries would be to recognize Pakistan as a nuclear power to win the hearts and minds of 99% of the population and also the military. This will remove any doubts in the minds of Pakistani people and the military that US is after the Pakistani nukes.

Laique of TX 10:45PM October 25, 2009