AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS

The French author Jules Verne wrote many books of fiction but with an intriguing possibility that what was written about was actually possible. One of these was "Around the World in 80 days" published in both French and English in 1873. Today it is quite easy to travel around the world in eighty days and media information travels in eighty seconds. So it is with a degree of surprise that we read of the American President Barack Hussein Obama taking 88 days to make his decision regarding the deployment of further American troops for Afghanistan. It might be noted that the previous American President George Bush took just 50 days to raise, deploy troops to Afghanistan and render the Taliban largely ineffective.

The Obama lengthy decision-making does not indicate a Commander-in-Chief that is an effective resolute wartime leader. One is reminded of another politician who returned from Munich waving a piece of white paper which, instead of being "peace in our time" turned into a surrender document. As to the speech at West Point, NY at the United States Military Academy, it was in the style of a Harvard seminar lecture rather than a rousing wartime speech. The explanation of the reason 30,000 troops are being deployed was not presented to the American people and it was only that a former military Senior Officer, now retired, later explained the strategy that one understood.

During the speech Obama mentioned Roosevelt but the reference was largely obscure. Much more applicable would have been the history of Afghanistan itself which one hopes has been studied by the Obama Administration. It is an ancient tribal history, long, involved, violent, complex, and still in a mindset of medieval thinking of fundamentalist Islam. Let us take a look at it to give an indication of this still very primitive land with no infrastructure.

The detailed history of Afghanistan starts in 330 BC with the arrival of Sikandar and his Greek army. Civilisation had existed in the region for thousands of years, however there had been numerous kingdoms and many capitals. While remaining politically divided the various tribal peoples, speaking many different languages united under Islam with the Mongol invasion of the 13th. Century. The following is a summation of Afghanistan conquests and conflicts;

Islamic conquest of Ghaznavids and Ghurids, 642 - 1200

Timurid dynasty, 1370 - 1526

Mughal Empire 1526 - 1709

Hotaki dynasty 1709 - 1738

Durrani Empire 1747 - 1826

European Influence 1826 - 1919

Amanullah Khan 1919 - 1929

Nadir Shah and Zahir Shah 1929 - 1973

It is this euphemism that is important for the 'European Influence' was the attempt by the British Empire to try and control Afghanistan from British India. Concerned over Russian advances in Central Asia - does history repeat itself? - in the 19th. Century in what 'The Raj' referred to as 'The Great Game'. Advancing through the Khyber Pass, were the Regimental Badges can still be seen today, from India - Pakistan did not of course exist in those days - the British Regiments of Foot were supported by the Artillery, Cavalry and Sepoy Regiments of The Raj Army. In the First Afghan War of 1839 - 1842 the Afghan tribal forces annihilated the British Regiments of Foot and The Raj Army. The only survivor being a seriously wounded British Army medical officer who was saved by an Afghan tribesman under the Muslim law of hospitality. The hatred of foreign rule should be remembered by those who enter Afghanistan which is relatively easy to enter but very difficult to leave.

The Second Afghan War of 1878 - 1880 resulted from the Amir Shir Ali's refusal to have a mission from The Raj in his capital Kabul. This resulted in Amir Abdur Rahman coming to the throne and during his reign of 1880 - 1901 the British and the Czar of all the Russias established the boundaries of what we know today as Afghanistan. The country's foreign affairs were under the control of The Raj. During World War 1, 1914 - 1918 and World War 2, 1939 - 1945 Afghanistan remained neutral but with internal dissent.

The logistics of actually deploying 30,00 troops into Afghanistan is as difficult today as it was in the 19th. Century. This deployment is set to commence in early 2010 and these forces will be supplemented by Afghan Forces. However these Afghan's must be trained in modern warfare and at present are in two groups Afghan 'police' and Afghan 'army'.

We would suggest that these groups are combined into an Afghan Gendarmes Force, they can be trained by the Training Command into an effective modern controlling Force. In addition it will be necessary to build an infrastructure in the country. Military engineers and local civilians could be formed into construction battalions. Hired and paid by the Military Command directly this would largely bypass the Afghan Government corruption. It may well encourage the local population, under their own tribal leaders, to at least tolerate the foreign troops and see their country develop under Afghan control with Afghan values. Education is essential and in fact is guaranteed by the Afghan Constitution. With an effective infrastructure the local population would be able to travel to schools, mosques and between towns as they need too. Perhaps in time they would develop a National Entity and a true National Government with a core value of the best of Islam.