The Psy-War In Afghanistan

(Photo from The Situationist)

Losing The Psy-War In Afghanistan -- Rediff

If wars are won and lost first in the head and only after that on the battlefield, then Pakistan and perhaps even the West might be on the verge of losing the War on Terror. Despite all the resources available to the forces battling terror, psychologically the Islamists are dominating their rivals in this war.

One manifestation of this lies in the statements being made by the US's European allies, openly saying that the war in Afghanistan is not winnable. Reports of Saudi-brokered negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban further reaffirm the feeling that the US and its allies are unlikely to stay the course in this war.

The psychological ascendance of the Islamist Pashtun insurgents can also be gauged by the constant refrain inside Pakistan that this war cannot be won by force alone, that the warring Pashtun tribesmen can never be subdued by an alien force, that peace will not become possible as long as the foreign troops don't leave Afghanistan, and that Pakistan will have to reach out to the combatants and negotiate with them if there has to be peace in that country.

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My Comment: The Afghanistan war and it's narrative is almost identiticle to what was Iraq's narrative 3 years ago. The same people who predicted defeat in Iraq .... are now saying the same thing for Afghanistan. The people who said that we will win in Iraq .... are also saying we will win in Afghanistan.

So .... I would probably listen to those who have been right before as better authorities on what is happening, than listening to those who have been wrong before and are now saying the same thing about Afghanistan.