Not sending indian soldiers to afghan an apt decision

Not sending indian soldiers to afghan an apt decision

Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman is right to say India will help Afghanistan’s reconstruction with aid, but will not send troops to fight there. She said this in the presence of her American counterpart James Mattis: presumably Washington DC will read her signal loud and clear.

One year ago, Donald Trump promised to bring US troops home from Afghanistan. Last month, he changed his mind: American reinforcements will start pouring into Afghanistan in its 16-year war.

This flip-flop will disappoint his economically backward, socially conservative constituents, the base for disproportionate number of servicemen: most families would like their boys home. So, despite the current surge, Trump is under pressure to cut down American military activity overseas.

It would be ideal for the US to outsource the dangerous business of fighting to allies. President Trump would prefer that citizens of other nations put their lives at risk to further Washington’s geopolitical goals.

The carrot for doing that, presumably, will be greater access to American technology, finance and physical capital. For India, in terms of numbers the largest democracy in the world, this is a tough ask to agree to.

After the US bombed the Taliban out of power in 2001, India resumed large-scale humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. But our biggest achievement was to build Route 606, a 218-km highway from the Iranian border to Delaram and Zaranj, two busy centres of commerce in Afghanistan, finished in 2009.

In Iran, the route continues south to the port of Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman. This road connects landlocked Afghanistan to global maritime trade. It allows supplies to bypass dangerous and unstable routes across Pakistan. India should deliver this sort of constructive help, not boots on the ground.