That conclusion is that we are the insurgents, not the Taliban, not ISIS, not al-Qaeda or the other eighteen or so terror networks operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan. An insurgency cannot succeed without the support of the populace, which we will never have until the Islamist ideology is defeated and the people of the region have something more attractive to which to attach themselves.
While ignoring the necessity for ideological war, the president also passed over crucial facts that will prevent his “new” strategy from succeeding. Principal among them is CPEC: the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor by which China has established itself in Pakistan — and derivatively Afghanistan — as one of America’s enemies there.
CPEC is ambitious in scope and involves the Chinese in almost every part of Pakistan’s economy and military. For example, the Chinese are building a large naval base near the port city of Gwadar. As reported by the Pakistani newspaper, Dawn, a “national fiber optic backbone” will be built for internet traffic. A “full system” of monitoring and surveillance will be built in cities from Peshawar to Karachi. Thousands of acres of agricultural land are being leased to the Chinese who will work with Pakistani farmers to grow crops for export to China.
Under CPEC, China will build roads, railroads, and other infrastructure. The costs of CPEC will be paid by China and will cost tens of billions of dollars. It is a bargain for the Chinese. From CPEC they gain more in Pakistan than they could have by conquering it.
Thus, Trump’s plan to induce Pakistan’s government to help fight terrorist networks by reducing or cutting off aid to Pakistan is risible. Any funds we cut off will be matched by added Chinese funding.
https://spectator.org/its-trumps-war-now/
President Donald Trump’s Afghanistan policy offers nothing new except forsaking old frontline ally Pakistan and coercing new strategic ally India to deliver, Sabena Siddiqui asserts. Having spent US$1 trillion on the 16-year battle without results, the US could not face defeat and blamed Pakistan instead. It has not been forgotten that Trump was opposed to the Afghan war during his election campaign, calling it “nonsense” and a waste of money, tweeting the refrain “Let’s get out of Afghanistan”. As the scapegoat, Pakistan was accused of sheltering “agents of chaos” and “the very terrorists” the US military had been fighting in Afghanistan, while greater Indian involvement was sought vis-a-vis containing the Taliban. However, criticizing Pakistan may have backfired on the US and a serious downgrade of US-Pakistani relations was the expected outcome. READ THE STORY HERE