Afghanistan : The Reality Why US is failing in Afghanistan and what should be its response National Strategy. There are a numerous strategic errors committed by US in Afghanistan in the past and these errors are haunting them now. The strategic errors committed are difficult to undo. But , correcting them will be worse. It’s like leaving Saddam in power after the first Gulf war and then tried correcting it with Gulf War II...with worse results and losing all the goodwill and invincibility they had built after the first gulf war. The coalition forces were welcomed by Afghanis when Taliban was dismantled because they looked powerful, asserting and someone who could improve lives of normal Afghani. Today, things seem different. They look powerless, difficult and worse something which is making ordinary Afghani life more difficult than it was under Taliban. For coalition forces , If someone like Taliban can make them look like novice in war-fighting then they have to take a hard look at their national, operational and tactical strategy. I would like to start with what is AIM of coalition forces....is it making life of ordinary Afghani more prosperous and peaceful or ensuring security of US. These aims look different but actually they are co-terminus. One will lead to the other but start point has to be to develop Afghanistan and not the other way around which Secretary of State Hillary enunciated a few days back. If the strategy is making Afghanistan prosperous and peaceful (something which US successfully achieved in Japan and Germany after WWII) and therefore keep people on its side then some thrust areas should be:- First and foremost removing political ambiguity. Today Afghanistan has a lot of political ambiguity ..people wonder if President Karzai is really the President...people of Afghanistan should feel that he rules the roost. The campaign of alleged corruption should be halted and if some element in his administration are perpetuated it ...they need to be removed ruthlessly. This is a minor irritant and best is to ensure its removal earliest. A political consensus should evolve amongst people against weaponised elements of Taliban. Social Structuring. In Afghan society is feudal in nature and its very difficult to remove it in one stroke.. How to deal with this situation will be hallmark of Afghani politics. This issue should be left to President Karzai and his people. Any US or outside meddling in this issue will complicate things because a US citizen can never understand why things are the way they are. The aim should be create social awareness slowly and with tools which an ordinary Afghani likes. Issues like growth of education, understanding religious necessities( one need not give it too much importance because Afghanis are really not too religious), medical care facilities, non intrusive infrastructure, ensuring women kept out of too much of glare etc are some issues which need to hand in glove with social development. I would like to add role of charity organisations. The charity organisations should look like charity organisation and not a burden on the country. Unfortunately the structure of too many charity organizations should be dismantled and the complete work should be carried out by Afghanistan governmental organisation with specialists being provided by specialist organisations. I have personal experience of working alongside some well known charity organisation and I always felt that they do too little and make too much noise destabilising the social fabric. Its important that US doesn’t try and break century old customs and traditions of Afghani society. Understandingly feudal and tribal zamindari is important for them. These are bad things buts what Americans want to install in its place is far worse. Poverty breeds corruption and a weak administration machinery is worst than a feudal system ...atleast there is some sort of law enforcing machinery. Not perfect but allowing people to live. Establishing Law of land. The most *important *yet achievable only after prominence given to socio- economic issues. Since *its* most important issue... US have to come out with brilliant operational plans and better tactical implementation. Creating a favourable image for public support back home in US. No soldier can fight if his work is not being appreciated and considered as necessary by their countrymen. Subconventional operations require soldiers on every inch of ground. In these operations one has to use restrained force and heavy weaponry will always create more problems. More troops should be sourced from CIS countries, India, China, Pakistan and if possible Iran. These countries are in close proximity to Afghanistan and understand the society better than westerners do. Out of these I will recommend active involvement of India and Pakistan more than others. Historically Afghanistan has been more associated with India than any other country and both countries share similar value systems. An Afghani is more likely to accept Indian troops than other country. They are less threatening and better at handling insurgency and sub conventional warfare. An Indian soldier has better understanding of poor people and can handle them better than anyone else. Western troops just can’t imagine poverty and hunger of Afghanistan. The way US soldiers lead their lives ( even if it is supposed to be very tough and life threatening back home)is seen as luxurious and ostentatious to an ordinary Afghani... He just can’t have a positive feeling for them. In fact anyone aligning with US troops is likely to be alienated from the populace. In my view they should look part of Afghanistan...light , fearless and have care for children, elderly and women. Do I have right to say so....Afghanis require an south Asian solution that ...slumdog** millionaire will understand them and he has wonderful system to solve such problems. Force and technology alone cannot solve it. In fact don’t give too much technology in their hands ..they will tend to misuse it. Let them solve by sheer human interface. Its understanding of hunger and severity of life which can best solve the problem. Unfortunately western world can’t fathom it ....even if they run some of the largest charity organisation...sometimes I even wonder if they are charity...had a chance opportunity to be with them for a year. An ordinary Afghani understands that US is unlikely to be present for ever but presence of Taliban looks likely. For him it makes difference between life and death. It’s cheaper to be on wrong side of US. The biggest problem is Army just can’t hide its sympathisers ...they lack training and imagination. It should be top priority while training them. The western philosophy is far too removed from Afghan society’s perception of life. For them its fight for survival whereas for westerners its matter on the periphery...for an Afghani , he will care for good life, entertainment or women rights later ..His motto for present is let me eat and survive first. I suggest every westerner read Rabindernath Tagore’s Kabuliwala to know the psyche of an Afghani. They look tough from outside but are far more vulnerable from inside. They need understanding and care like a child ... not tough measures like the ones being adopted...and don’t tell them that they are not tough...which they are ...but that shell needs breaking ...rest is easy.