A decision on troop pullout, especially in case of Afghanistan, needs to be taken now so that its implementation could coincide with the time when the election activity in the US is in full swing, and President Trump could tell the American voters that he did what he pledged, and score political points in his bid to get re-elected as president of the world’s sole superpower.
President Trump cares a dam about warnings by US intelligence chiefs that a hasty withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and Syria could allow a resurgence by al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
The US Senate has overwhelmingly voted for a measure — sponsored by Mitch McConnell, the Majority Leader of the Republican Party — warning against a ‘precipitous withdrawal’ from either country.
Unmoved by the rare opposition from his very own party, President Trump, during a recent television interview, insisted that his promise to bring US troops home was ‘a big part’ of the reason that he was elected. He has no qualms about his insistence on troop withdrawal being called election-centric.
Trump’s America-first slogan gives him all the justification to look the other way when his attention is drawn towards the mess a hasty troop withdrawal would leave in Afghanistan, which is bound to take its toll in the neighbouring countries, most importantly Pakistan — yet again. Remember the US had acted in a similar manner in the nineties as well.
So it may be all over for the US, but for Pakistan and other players in the region, it may well be the beginning of a new crisis. It is hoped that Pakistan, in view of its previous experience with the US, is prepared for the fallout.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2019.
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