The strategic importance of Afghanistan has not been lost out on Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, secretary general of NATO, who has pleaded for troop increases in Afghanistan. He acknowledges that policy makers in EuropeAfghanistan to their own security. In a press interview, he said “The security of Afghanistan is directly linked to your and my security and that is the message we have not yet been able to get across”. have not been able to link
Afghanistan’s significance lies in the strategic importance of being in a region which is energy rich and hence has been of considerable interest for regional and world powers. A stable Afghanistan, which would have friendly relations to the western world would provide a useful base for the countries which have an interest in Afghanistan’s neighbors, and it would also provide overland pipeline territory, which would significantly reduce transportation costs.
Al-Qaeda and the Taliban while recognizing this importance, also view a victory in Afghanistan to be a step towards the downfall of the American power. Viewing the Mujahideen victory against the Soviet Union to be a significant factor in the disintegration of the state, Osama Bin Laden has argued that the same fate would befall an American defeat in Afghanistan.
Measures are being adopted to deal with the resurgence, and WashingtonAfghanistan. France for example, has offered its troops to support the Dutch contingent mission in Uruzgan, and NATO has decided to lease more helicopters for logistics and traveling to ease the pressure on their Military helicopters. Officers’ point out that making more use of helicopters to move around the battlefield would cut down on the need for ground convoys that are favorite targets of suicide bombers and attackers using improvised explosive devices. has been actively lobbying its coalition partners to stand firm on their promise to help
However, the most significant of measures would have to be an increase of diplomatic pressure on Pakistan. It is owing to the duplicity of the PakistanAfghanistan. Pakistan’s role in quelling the violence can be judged from the fact that the peaceful conduct of the October 2004 Afghan elections, was in part owing to the crackdown on Islamic Fundamentalists, after intense pressure on Pakistan from Western governments. regime in particular, which has significantly hampered stabilization efforts in
While Pakistan’s own domestic political upheavals would impede similar efforts, a crackdown on Islamic militants on its territory would be beneficial to it as well.
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