WHAT ATTRACTS USA IN AFGHANISTAN?

USA and USSR remained at logger-heads for almost three to four decades in a bid to dominate each other through commonly known “Cold War”. This cold war was more than a war between these two countries; it was a war between two different ideologies. Each ideology threatened other, each denounced other and each tried to saddle other. In the USA a “witch hunt” was carried out against communists and similarly, In the USSR, proponents of capitalism were “fenced in.” Although no “Hot War” was fought, yet proxy wars were the order of day.. This saber rattling came to halt for a while at the collapse of USSR, but under the carpet, itching and dislike continued and is still going on for that matter. Now USSR has, once again, started flexing its muscles and USA is trying to prolong its hegemony in this uni-polar world. This effort of prolongation can be traced even in Afghanistan at present.

Afghanistan is a mountain capped country, almost a barren and desolate, which produces nothing except weapons and opium. It is not a mineral laden land, it does not produce oil, so why The U.S., despite teetering on the edge of national insolvency, is still trying to increase military force in the region where every invader in history has failed to achieve his objectives. To find an answer to this question, one needs to glance at geographical location of Afghanistan . It is a landlocked state that shares its borders with very important countries like Iran, Pakistan, china and central Asian states, so on the basis of its geo-strategic position, it has been a focus of U.S. and international interest. Dick Cheney, current vice president and former chief executive of Halliburton, speaking in 1998 said,” I cannot think of a time when we have had a region emerge as suddenly to become as strategically significant as the Caspian”. He was in no uncertain terms, referring to Afghanistan. Osama Bin Ladin and his Al-Qaida, whether exist in Afghanistan or not , they have certainly given a pretext to the USA to spread its tentacles in the entire region and that is just because of the region's geo-political significance.

Interests of the USA in the region are multi-pronged. It believes that it is its prime obligation to contain neighboring countries of Afghanistan. Containment of China, control over Central-Asian states to explore Caspian Basin, access to sprawling Indian market, vicious eye on Pakistani Nuclear Nukes and bridling nuclear Iran are the contents of American Prolonged Status-quo programme in Afghanistan. As a matter of fact, Security and Business are two main US interests in the region. All afore mentioned neighboring countries have adverse and antithetical interests than that of the US or for that matter US interests are not in consonance with these countries.
China, in no uncertain terms, is a communist country and communism to the USA is a red rag to the bull. Apart from Communist rivalry, china is the emerging Super Power on the horizon of international comity. It has proved its potential to be at the top through its performance in every sphere of life. With the help of its jueqi ,it has raised consternation in the world, particularly to the Us. So Us would never let China pose a knock-out threat to its hegemony. US-Iranian conflict is also not a secret, be it on the basis of Iranian Revolution of 1979 or Iranian pursuit of Nuclear technology or its bordering with Caspian sea, Iran has remained a thorn in flesh for the US. US, perhaps, feels, Israel couldn’t produce desired results in the Gulf, specifically in reigning Iran because Iranian govt has called a spade a spade to The US, which was quite an embarrassment for The US.
Energy rich central Asian states have also made US mouth water and it has been dreaming to create its influence on the states by bringing them out of Russian clout . The vast oil and gas reserves of the Caspian basin are also of immense significance in global power play. Russia's political and economic control over the central Asian republics and diminish America's long-term influence on the region over the next century . USA’s stay and interest in Afghanistan seems to be the solution of physical problem of exporting the fuel from the Caspian Basin, because if USA thinks of transporting the fossil fuel through Russia or Central Asian States, it would diminish Russia's political and economic control over the central Asian republics and enhance America's much wanted long-term influence on the region, which Russia would resist at any cost. Iran is another option to think at but Iran and USA have already locked their horns. In this situation, the only other option left with USA is export of fuel via Afghanistan and further through Pakistan.
However, the situation in nuclear Pakistan deserves special attention. Pakistan has been under much debate in the congress and American Think Tank. Americans believe that Pakistan is fully implicated in backing, supporting and financing the Taliban in a bid to continue having belief in “ Afghanistan as Pakistan’s Strategic Depth” theory. They have raised their eyebrows on number of occasions as far as Army’s involvement in the current fuss is concerned. American know that between 1979 and 1990, CIA has trained Pakistanis in the Brooklyn School in New York and in Virginia to fight against Russians and support Taliban. Since then, Pakistani army and ISI have very soft corner for Taliban, but they cannot say it vociferously. To them nuclear Pakistan is now more dangerous than past.
In this scenario, dreaming of Halcyon Days in Afghanistan is a tough task for the USA. It has been a very tough endeavor. With every passing day, resurgence of the Taliban and Al Qaeda has led to an increase in violence through out war torn country.
In fact, there has been nothing easy about Afghanistan. And, as Senator Lieberman observed in a recent speech to the Brookings Institution, “Reversing Afghanistan’s slide into insecurity will not come quickly, easily, or cheaply.” Similarly, Secretary Gates told Congress, “This will undoubtedly be a long and difficult fight.” So it is very important for American decision makers to be clear headed about the challenges that lie ahead, and they also need to chalk out a direction which may prove a win-win situation for the stake-holders. But for this to happen, America needs to shun “Pax-Americana” project and its imperialist designs.