Multi-Regional Problem
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and central Asia are on the cusp of a critical juncture in history. What happens in Afghanistan will decide the stability of the entire region, determine the reach of extremism, and ultimately determine our own security.
There is Iran, with its dream of being at the epicenter of a Shiite regional alliance. There is central Asia, where the recent bombing of a luxury train, the Nevsky Express, killed 26 people, most likely by Chechen guerrilla resistance. The terrorists adopted the double-blast method, a favored tactic of groups tied to al-Qaeda. There is the nuclear-armed Pakistan, where the army plagued by fundamentalism is supporting an unpopular president amid growing economic woes in a splintered system of governance, and where the commando-style attacks in Waziristan, including the attack on the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, on the eve of Pakistan’s army’s advance into the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan had “inside job” written all over it.
The situation in Afghanistan has a strong regional dimension and cannot be addressed without the co-operation of Pakistan and Afghanistan’s other neighbors, especially Pakistan. As long as Pakistan sees the Karzai government as allied with India, Pakistan’s Military Intelligence Services, ISI, will support the Taliban. Pakistan’s national security psyche is plagued by a struggle to keep India at bay. Unless the U.S. provides assurances of regional security Pakistan will prefer to be allied with the Muslim Taliban in case of an Indian attack.
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Courtesy image by Pixabay
