Lesson for Pakistan is fairly obvious, irrespective of intricacies of negotiation theory presented in this article.
PRESTON, UK: This is in connection with Ejaz Haider’s article “Beware of negotiating with the TTP” carried in your newspaper on May 22. America, the superpower with an estimated 100,000 soldiers, Nato with a further 50,000 soldiers, plus the Afghan Army and police, the latest military and communications technology and billions and billions of dollars over 11 years have failed to defeat 30,000 Taliban fighters, who have very basic weapons and limited money. The lesson of the Soviet Union’s defeat at the hands of the Mujahideen and the negotiated exit after nine years wasn’t quite relevant for American arrogance.
Turkey, for the last 30 years, has been fighting the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers’ Party) without any result. Both the US and Turkey have resorted to negotiations, having suffered from years of military exhaustions. The US was defeated by the Vietcong with limited resources and asymmetric warfare. The lesson for Pakistan is fairly obvious, irrespective of the intricacies of negotiation theory presented in this article.
Riaz Ahmad
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2013.
