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Random Thoughts
The Afghanistanization of South,
West &
Central Asia
by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
 Imperial powers are well known
for their divide and rule policies. Britain in acquiring and
dissolving its empire split Iraq and Kuwait and created Jordan
and Gulf kingdoms. It split the Pashtuns by the Durand line
between India and Afghanistan and subsequently hived off the two
wings of Pakistan from India. France divided Syria and Lebanon.
Russia in its conquering phase took over Azerbaijan splitting
Azerbaijanis between Iran and its conquests. It also acquired
its Southern Muslim population of South Caucasus from the
shrinking Turkic Ottoman empire. Its artificial boundaries
between Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan left mixed
populations in those republics amongst themselves and
Afghanistan. The breakup of the Soviet Union left economic
deprivation, autocratic and corrupt authoritarian rulers and
rising Islamic insurgencies.
The US and Pakistan promoted, nurtured, financed and armed
Islamic militants to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. Pakistan
also applied the same strategy in Kashmir and Punjab against
India. The US invasion of Iraq made the centuries old covert
Sunni Shia schism into an overt festering wound. The US created
demons of mujahideen and Al Qaeda were the match that detonated
the Iraqi gunpowder piled up by the US. US support for Iranian
regime change has worsened terrorism in Iranian provinces of
Baluchistan, Kurdistan and Khuzistan. Now the US is facing a
devastating, unwinnable and costly insurgency from its devil’s
spawn.
It would be unfair to blame only the imperial powers. The
military, autocratic as well as democratically elected
governments of south, central and west Asia have implemented
such corrupt, inept and foolish policies and indulged in neglect
of the poor and minorities, while neighboring states have
promoted or turned a blind eye towards terror. Pakistan’s use of
the Taliban to gain strategic depth in Afghanistan and harass
India, has now brought it to ruin as its terrorists have turned
against the mother state. There are insurgencies in the
provinces of Baluchistan, Northwest Frontier, FATA and even
Sindh and Punjab.
Sri Lanka’s discriminatory economic and linguistic policies
favoring the Sinhalese majority led to the Tamil insurgency,
just overcome after decades at ruinous economic cost and
persistent Tamil alienation. India initially looked on the Sri
Lankan Tamil insurgency with benign neglect because of the
ethnic ties of the Tamils to its own state of Tamilnadu. A
foolish Rajiv Gandhi with delusions of grandeur sent in the
Indian army as a police force and eventually paid the ultimate
price due to a Tamil woman suicide bomber.
The Indian state with its shamelessly corrupt leaders and
politicians and captured by vested interests to become a
predator state, has been unable to provide public services,
honest and good governance, healthcare, education, electricity,
infrastructure and even safe potable water to nearly half its
citizens. Thus insurgencies have occurred in the northeastern
states, Punjab and Kashmir, fueled by Pakistan in the last two.
Now it faces a Maoist insurgency in West Bengal, Bihar,
Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh,
constituting nearly a third of its territory and half of its
states and territories. In addition neighboring Nepal has been
taken over by Maoists, China claims the state of Arunachal,
Pakistan claims the state of Jammu Kashmir. Bangladesh supports
Islamic extremism and illegal migration into India and faces
inundation by rising seas due to global warming.
Myanmar is ruled by a military junta which imprisons its elected
leader. It faces an insurgency at the Thai border and provides a
refuge for Assamese ULFA fighting India. Thailand faces an
Islamic insurgency in the South as do parts of Indonesia. Iran
faces a Sunni Baluchi rebellion in the south and a Kurdish
insurgency on the northwest along its border with Iraq. Even
China has serious problems with Tibet and Sinkiang. High handed
military suppression of deprived and backward minorities
invariably inflames insurgencies when the government fails to
fulfill its civic obligations.
It is worse when foreign troops unable to speak the local
language, who do not know or respect the culture and customs of
the local population and rule via puppets lusting for power and
money, with the collaboration of warlords or drug barons. This
is why additional thousands of American troops in Afghanistan
without providing jobs and economic benefits or uprooting
bribery and corruption by police and government officials, is
destined to fail and will only add to loss of American blood and
treasure. The American people facing unemployment, foreclosures
and an economy lying flat on its back will not have the
patience, perseverance or appetite for a decade of slugging it
out in Afghanistan and India should think twice before adopting
a policy of bombing insurgents by planes or drones.
November 1, 2009
Image under license with Gettyimages.com
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