US to join Taliban for future of Afghanistan: Analyst

The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001, removing the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops. The foreign forces are scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and hand over responsibility for security to the Afghan government.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Syed Ali Wasif, Society for International Reforms and Research, from Washington, to further discuss the issue. Wasif is joined by Richard Becker, A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, from San Francisco, and Abdul Hamid Noorzad, a journalist and political commentator from Kabul. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: On that same question that President Karzai is saying that these soldiers are actually the ones that are involved in lots of corruption in that country, your perspective on that comment.

Wasif: First you have to understand the background of this war, the reason of this war, then corruption, and the policies here in the White House.

The problem with it is there is a consensus in America on a withdrawal. Withdrawal is not the issue at hand in Afghanistan. All the Americans including the American government is looking for a withdrawal. The problem is the strategy of withdrawal and the time frame, one.

The second is what’s happening here in the United States is that you have to understand that those advisors who are called a title as experts in different fields, especially in Afghanistan, are basically not the experts.

They are not the people who know the culture, the ideology, the background, the history and the mindset of the Afghan people. They do not speak Dari or Pashto. They have never been to Afghanistan and they are acting as advisors to the US president on Afghanistan. This is the main problem.

This is not just the problem with Afghanistan. Unfortunately, all the advisors of the current administration or the previous administrations had no experience in dealing with the Middle East, with South Asia, with Afghanistan, with Central Asia, with Russia...

Press TV: Let me just jump in here because what you have said is that, basically, the United States is in consensus, that the military, basically everyone wants to withdraw and there’s some differences with the timeframe. We know that it’s 2014 but, of course, it’s being said that there will be people staying on the ground. What exactly does that mean? What is the goal?...

Do you agree with our guest in San Francisco? Is it all about profit over people or is it a little bit more complicated, in your perspective?

Wasif: It’s more complicated and I was just saying the same as the gentleman in San Francisco said.

The reason is actually corporatism is the main issue here in the United States. The corporate managers now are acting as political analysts, political experts and area experts in the White House and in different departments of the US. That’s the main problem. They should have been in the corporate business and not in the politics and war strategies.

The unfortunate thing we’re witnessing here today is, as I was saying and you interrupted me while I was saying that, all the advisors of this administration are neither experts on the issues nor on the region.

They do not speak the language. They do not know the culture. They do not know the background and history of those countries and areas and they have never been to those areas, and they are advisors to the president. Now you see the result. This is the main issue.

They are all corporate people without any knowledge of politics and law and the regional affairs. This is the main issue and that’s what’s wreaking havoc there in the region and elsewhere.

This is a war between the corporate people and the military or between the state department and the DOD and the corporate people. This is the main issue, you should understand that. Not the issue of Afghanistan or corruption. That becomes a laden issue and that’s an issue which is not so important.

The primary issue is who is dealing with this policy? -Those people who do not know about those regions and those affairs who are in charge here in the White House or in the state department, unfortunately.

Press TV: Do you not think that part of the game is about the control of the natural resources of any country that these entities get involved in or not?

Wasif: Exactly, I do say it in that manner. But the problem is how do they deal with it? They deal with it in a very cunning manner, in a very diplomatic manner and that’s what they are doing now and that’s what they have done in the past.

The thing is Hamid Karzai was a part of the Halliburton empire, so now he’s dealing with Afghanistan.

The problem is not about the current situation. The problem is about the future of Afghanistan. After the withdrawal, what would happen? Simply nothing would change except for the faces. The policies, the strategy, the loot and the plunder of natural resources and the corruption would remain there. This is the main problem.

How? -By involving the Taliban there.

What I’m seeing is the involvement of Taliban on one condition, that the Americans are ready to hand over the power to the Taliban with one condition, that they would have an access to all the natural resources there, that is the American corporate sector would be involved there in the future together with the Taliban and they would withdraw from that.

It’s going to be a Taliban and American corporate nexus. That’s a dangerous game. /SR