The Afghan War is the longest armed conflict the United States has ever engaged in, with the fighting starting Oct. 7, 2001 and continuing to this day. The fighting — which was conceived by the administration of George W. Bush as a means to extract Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan and to remove the Taliban from control of the Afghan government, which allegedly sponsored al-Qaeda leadership — has cost the United States more than $675 billion since 2001, has led to 3,386 American and coalition deaths in Afghanistan, and has led to a situation where the Taliban has resurged, Afghan children and civilians are being killed in mass numbers, and Afghanistan itself is standing on the brink of calamity.
With the prospect of peace with the Taliban a remote possibility, and despite assurances from the American government that a full withdrawal will occur, the American and Afghan governments have negotiated a deal that would allow the United States to stay in the country for at least another decade, But this agreement is coming with serious hesitations in light of America’s past behavior in Afghanistan.
According to a draft of the Bilateral Security Agreement, published on the Afghan foreign minister’s website Wednesday night, the United States has agreed to support the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in advising, training, equipping, support and sustaining capacities, as mutually agreed upon. Between 10,000 and 15,000 mostly-American soldiers would remain in Afghanistan. The United States will engage in cooperating with counter-terrorism actions in Afghanistan against al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other threats to Afghan sovereignty. At the same time, the United States agreed to respect Afghan sovereignty, which has been a point of contention previously; stating that it will not conduct combat operations in Afghanistan unless it is mutually agreed to.
A heavy hand
Recent studies have found that the United States’ use of unmanned drone strikes in Afghanistan — 447, as a December 2012 — has caused 10 times more civilian casualties than strikes from manned fighter aircrafts. In the first three months of 2013, 475 civilians were accidentally killed by assassination strikes, with another 872 wounded — a 30 percent increase from the same time last year.
In addition to this, questions of America’s previous actions — including the February 2012 accidental burning of hundreds of copies of the Quran, the March 2012 shooting spree by an American soldier that resulted in the death of 16 Afghan civilians, and the use of “night raids” — have begged the question of whether the United States actually respects Afghanistan as an equal.
The “night raids” were special forces strikes in which the United States — working for a “kill/capture list” — invaded civilian households in the middle of the night where they suspected targets could be found. These raids led to large numbers of civilian casualties, allegations of corruption, seizure of civilians, and gross human-rights violations and perceived violations of the sense of harem — or women’s sanctity within the home. In 2012, the United States agreed that no “night raids” shall be conducted without the consent of the Afghan government and the leadership of Afghan forces. Approximately 40 percent of subsequent “night raids” were led by Afghan forces.
In regards to any “hurt feelings” from America’s previous actions, the Obama administration has indicated it will not apologize. “No such letter has been drafted or delivered. There is not a need for the United States to apologize to Afghanistan,” National Security Adviser Susan Rice said on CNN’s “Situation Room,” concerning rumors that a formal letter of apology will be drafted. “Quite the contrary, we have sacrificed and supported them in their democratic progress and in tackling the insurgents and al Qaeda. So that (letter of apology) is not on the table.”
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has agreed — short of an actual apology — to draft a letter clarifying the American position on past issues and pledging to do everything possible to avoid repeating them.
“The secretary offered the idea of providing the same reassurances about our security relationship and addressing past issues, such as civilian casualties, which we’ve talked about many times in the past, in some format,” said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
On Wednesday, President Obama sent to Afghan President Hamid Karzai the assurance letter, in which he stated, “Over time, and especially in the recent past, we have redoubled our efforts to ensure that Afghan homes are respected by our forces and that our operations are conducted consistent with your law. We will continue to make every effort to respect the sanctity and dignity of Afghans in their homes and in their daily lives, just as we do for our own citizens.”
Despite this, the American sticking point that the U.S. will have sole discretion in disciplining military personnel for criminal actions while serving in Afghanistan may be the hardest to accept. During the 2011 withdrawal negotiations, talks broke down over a failure to reach a compromise on this point. On this point, the United States has made itself clear — without jurisdiction over its own soldiers and civilian personnel, the United States will not sign the agreement and will withdraw all American forces from Afghanistan with the coalition withdrawal at the end of 2014.
A lack of trust
Karzai, however, has shown true hesitation to the United States’ offer. Karzai has stated that the Loya Jirga — Afghanistan’s grand council of tribal leaders — should decide if this agreement should be agreed to. On Thursday, just hours after Kerry announced that a final deal has been reached, Karzai told the Loya Jirga in Kabul, “My trust with America is not good. I don’t trust them and they don’t trust me. During the past 10 years I have fought with them and they have made propaganda against me.
“In the past 12 years we have had both good and bad times with the U.S.,” he continued. “Sometimes our relations are good and sometimes the relations are terrible. At some points, I thought about telling the U.S. to just leave Afghanistan and we will deal with our own situation. But I was always very patient and thinking about our country. We should be careful not to take a wrong step forward.”
Karzai, while urging the Loya Jirga that this proposal may be what is best for Afghanistan, suggested that the incoming president and the new administration — which is due after elections in 2014 — should be the one that sign the deal. The White House has responded that should the deal not be signed by the end of the year it would be impossible to keep any forces in Afghanistan after the pullout. The agreement would secure $4 billion in annual funding to Afghan security forces, permit training of a badly-organized and poorly-led Afghan military, and would allow the United States the right to pursue al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups across Afghan borders. No other nation has agreed to maintain forces in Afghanistan.
The Loya Jirga, which has no authority other than what the Afghan government affords it, is expected to approve the deal. The Loya Jirga could also call on Karzai to sign the deal; although, there are no indications it will do that. The Afghan Parliament will consider the proposal after the Loya Jirga approves it.