Saturday, April 5, 2025

Message from Chicago

Date:

Share post:

It was only to be expected that nothing much would come out of the deliberations at the NATO summit in Chicago. The central issue was Afghanistan. NATO reaffirmed its decision to cry halt to all NATO-led anti-insurgency operations and to withdraw combat troops from Afghanistan by December 31, 2014. Its strength has already been depleted by operations in Libya and its financial inanition. President Barack Obama, however, reiterated that the international community would not leave Afghanistan in the lurch. The Conference was primarily concerned with the formulation of a post-withdrawal strategy. It was said that some foreign troops would remain on Afghan soil in an advisory capacity. Evidently Afghan security forces cannot take on the Taliban challenge. On the other hand, the new French President Francois Hollande is determined to pull out French troops by the end of this year. It could lead other NATO countries to follow suit.

Pakistan was the main hurdle. President Asif Ali Zardari was invited to the summit. The Pakistani army had refused to reopen NATO supply routes to Afghanistan. It meant tacit support to the Haqqanis. Islamabad is demanding billions of dollars for its cooperation in the war on terror in the region. But there is a suspicion that a large slice of the aid requested may be diverted to anti-NATO operations which will be suicidal for the alliance. Few would like to see the Taliban to be back in power which will strengthen Islamic terrorism and threaten regional security. NATO has to develop alternative supply routes to Afghanistan through Russia and Central Asia. A hasty pull-out also calls for a rethink. But these matters will now be clouded in the gathering electoral storm in the US.

Related articles

Historic Waqf Bill ends corruption, grants entitlements to marginalised Muslims, says MRM

New Delhi, April 4: A wave of optimism and joy swept across the nation as the Waqf Amendment...

Top Lankan ministers, Indian diaspora accord grand welcome to PM Modi in Colombo amid heavy rain

Colombo, April 4: Hundreds of locals and members of the Indian diaspora community braved heavy rain to give...

IB woman officer suicide: Trouble mounts for absconding colleague as rape charges included

Thiruvananthapuram, April 4: The Kerala Police, on the lookout for the absconding male colleague of a woman IB...

Manipur: First tripartite talks between Meitei, Kuki-Zo, MHA in Delhi tomorrow

Imphal, April 4: In a significant development, leading organisations of Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities will hold a tripartite...