Eugene Khrushchev

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02 November, 2009, 21:12
Afpak suspension of disbelief: Pushtunistan – condicio sine qua non

On August 30, the newly appointed US commander in Afghanistan, General McChrystal, submitted his Afghan strategy review to the US Commander-in-Chief.

Two month later, he’s still in HALO waiting mode for his marching orders and force requirements to be approved and acted upon, while the White House brainstorming has so far produced only sitting-on-the-pants paralysis-thru-analysis.

Thus, the US military’s new Afghan strategy has been rendered obsolete and irrelevant by political sandblasts, even before getting a clean bill of health.

It’s high time for the CENTCOM chief, General Petraeus, to step out from the information shadow, finish off the tug-of-war between his subordinates and superiors, and break the strategic stalemate in Afghanistan.

To jumpstart the Afghan mission, CENTCOM King David ought to outflank AFPAK narco-bulldog and tell it like it is to the Commander-in-Chief: you can’t tackle Afghanistan without Pakistan; to defuse Pakistan, first and foremost, you gotta deal with Pushtunistan.

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Show comments (2)
Gene Hopkins

04 November, 2009, 03:49

Geno,

Evgeni Malkin (from Russia) is one of the two stars of the NHL Champion Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team. He lives in Pittsburgh and loves it. People in Pittsburgh affectionately call him Geno. I'm sure he will be a star on Russia's National team in Vancouver. (The definite favorite to win the Gold Medal)

Eugene (geno) from San Francisco
Born and raised in Pittsburgh


Bianca

03 November, 2009, 16:20

Fully agree. Until the issue of Durand line is solved --- yet one more of the dying British empire trip-wires --- there will be problems with "Afghanistan". The best solution would be to separate Pashtunistan from Pakistan and Afghanistan, and create a new country under the protection of UN. The country will be a buffer between intervention-prone Pakistan, and the more northern-aliance oriented Afghanistan. Afghanistan can exist in name as a country in today's borders only if everybody leaves them alone to settle their scores in their own way. This is not likely to happen, as the hyper-West just does not get the concept of "leave Afghanistan alone".
Therefore the only solution is to allow Pashtunistan to become a country. Afghanistan, or what is left of it, should be allowed to gravitate to its natural neighborhood. It should join SCO, and over time CSTO, and the economic and security issues would be addressed.

I do not believe that anything will happen by reasoning and based on logic. What will happen is a dragged out warfare, with the growing emphasis on drugs proliferation out to Russia and Central Asian republics to fund subversive forces there. Well known and respected individuals from Pakistan to Afghanistan, with the access to the information, have made public statements on the role of NATO military in ferrying drugs, as well as imposing "taxes" on drugs.

So, it will be the race for time. On one hand, the objective is to spill the war into the Tajikistan-Uzbekistan-Kyrgizstan areas, for starters, to undermine the strategic value of SCO as an economic organization and CSTO as a military alliance. Once the area is subject to instability, all the strategic pipeline projects from Turkmenistan to China would suffer using the Central Asian space, and would set back the prospects for the developement of the region as energy and trade route for generations to come.

On the other hand, the pressing problems created in Pakistan, may distract from the original goal --- the expansion to Central Asia. Wlll Pakistan get out of control? Will the proponents of expanding wars in Washington continue to get any amount of money they want? Will the neglected Palestinian-Israeli problem spin out of control? How long will the feable leadership in Egypt survive, before changing the map of the Middle East? And that is not to even mention Iran.

NATO is now running against the time. What looked like an easy case of "stay-forever", by periodically changing the tune and renaming the enemy --- is now in doubt.

And all of this was put in doubt by trying to tear down Karzai, the very man NATO created. Just like in Vientam's Diem case, US is tearing down its ally. This is potentially a big mistake. An ally, corrupt or not, remains an ally. Unless it is clear that US is loosing the war, so it is time to justify at home the reason for pulling out, or choosing to occupy only larger centers and garrison forces there.

The change of strategy is comming, planned or not.


28 October, 2009, 19:56
Agent provocateur
23 October, 2009, 13:08
Clear & present danger: Afghan WMD
About author

Colonel Eugene Khrushchev, navy brat & army lifer, is the military analyst at RT.

Contrary to the family tradition, he didn’t apply to Vladivostok Navy Academy to join the Pacific Fleet but enrolled in the Red Banner Institute special faculty Persian Team.

The dream to become a military attaché in Tehran has yet to materialize – the first foreign mission started in Afghanistan as a psyops officer of the 56th Airborne Assault Brigade in Gardez, Paktia, Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the last one was as the First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Other tours of duty:

Yugoslavia

The Russian Airborne peace-keeping mission under the aegis of UNPROFOR.

The United States

The main mission: to promote rapport & rapprochement between Russian & American veterans, in close cohesion with US military attaché General Reppert and Special Forces General Metaxis.

* Led the 1st delegation of Soviet Afghan Vets to the US at the invitation of VVA & VVC
* Addressed SOLIC Command and JFK Special Warfare School
* Consulted CBS 60 Minutes on the Soviet campaign in Afghanistan
* Interviewed by ABC 20/20 and Discovery Channel
* Featured by France Press, Boston Globe and USN& WR during the 1st Moscow putsch.

Inspired by Chinese strategy, Persian Sufi poetry and British cats; addicted to Country & Blues and muscle cars.

Favorite personal/personnel carrier – KA-50 Black Shark, due to financial & social constraints, settled for KTM 950 SM.