As the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan is approaching, the debate about the overall impact of the stay of these forces is also getting heated up. In the international media and especially in the American and British media, the continuous discussions and writings about the achievements of the forces are unveiling so many positive and negative aspects of this decade long invasion. The stay of coalition forces in Afghanistan can be declared as one of the most lengthy, costly and at the same time disastrous military movements of the modern history. Yet, the numbers of military experts who criticize this military endeavor surpass those who have rather positive feelings about them. 

It all started with the decision of America and its allies to attack Afghanistan to bring an end to the regime of Taliban and completely eliminate the Al-Qaeda activists from the Afghan soil in 2001. In the beginning, the scale of military operations was kept limited but every passing day witnessed ever-expanding involvement of foreign troops in the country. It still remains a controversy as why the respective governments did not try to quickly enable the Afghan forces to control the security of the country instead of increasing the military presence of their own forces. In this connection, large numbers of military bases were established in all the provinces of the country and then started a lengthy operation of transporting different objects for military. Starting from a heavy military truck to the drinking water of soldiers, each and everything was imported. This operation, which lasted for many years, gave birth to the famous concept of ‘container convoys’ in which hundreds and some times, thousands of trucks assembled together as a convoy to deliver the goods to the different parts of the country. These goods entered Afghanistan from the routes of either Central Asian countries or from Pakistan, after which they travelled around the country to reach their final destination.

While talking of the achievements of these troops, they removed the radical and non-democratic government of Taliban which was gradually turning the country into a failed state. They also attained some initial success in curbing the militant groups in the country but later on, they reappeared and they still pose a great threat for the democratic setup of the country. Their role in training and establishing a well-trained and well-equipped Afghan army is also quite considerable. But their greatest achievement can be called the establishment of a democratic setup in the war-torn country that had fallen very far from any such democratic practice in its blood-bathed civil war of more than three decades.

But the critics have more points against the stay of these forces. They are much opposed to the ideas that these forces should be welcomed like a ‘victorious force’ returning home and should be treated like heroes. They are also not ready to accept the perception that these forces are returning after a ‘mission accomplished’ rather they have opened a door of unrest which still needs to be shut permanently by someone.

The biggest failure of these forces came in the form of their failure to finish the remnants of Taliban and Al-Qaeda who are still active in the country and have even got stronger in the last couple of years. In the beginning, these anti-state elements disappeared with the disappearance of Taliban government and there was peace in the country for 2-3 years but later on they started emerging silently and now they run a parallel government in some parts of the country. Some military experts term this anti-terror war a ‘serious conspiracy’ and their ideas point to a great game played in the country in which all the stake-holders, i.e., terrorists, foreign troops, international spy agencies, Afghan government and some of the neighboring countries are all playing their role to befool the people in and outside the country. It is really strange that an organized and strong army, equipped with the latest technology cannot beat a group of scattered militants who are disorganized, poorly-funded and rather poorly-trained.

In the Helmand province, where British forces were deployed, the poppy cultivation reached to its peak in the last few years. In the beginning years, there were some achievements to decrease the poppy cultivation but later on, it turned out be a ‘fake game’ and the poppy cultivators are thriving. Once again, poppy cultivators, foreign troops, local drug smugglers and the government officials are accused of running a safe and hidden network to sell out the drugs in international markets and all the stakeholders have their share in the benefit. Same situation is present not only in Helmand but also in all the Afghan provinces where poppy cultivation was a trend in Taliban’s regime. Unfortunately, this lucrative farming has spread to some other parts of the country where it was not present even in Taliban’s time.

The latest controversy came in form of landmines that have been left undetonated in the military posts previously operated by the international coalition forces in Afghanistan. The National Security Council’s latest meeting presided over by President Karzai demanded the international forces to clean up these mines before they leave the country. According to the media reports, more than dozen of citizens with majority of children have so far lost their lives to these mines. These mines are going to remain as the legacy of these forces to remind us of the tragic events of this so-called ‘war-on-terror.’

Hundreds and billions of dollars spent of the American taxpayers for this endeavor may be termed as the ‘internal headache’ of American people but it is still a controversial issue as if these dollars were spent for what they actually meant and the aimed targets have been achieved or not.

Inside Afghanistan, it was unfortunate that these forces failed to win the hearts of common public though lot many campaigns were carried out like the media campaign, showing American and other foreign soldiers distributing biscuits and juices to the Afghan children. All these efforts were nullified by the military operations in which neutral and innocent civilians were targeted and on many occasions, the military spokesman had to accept these ‘grave’ mistakes and apologize to the bereaved families. The torture and inhumane attitude towards Afghan prisoners in the notorious Bagram prison also added to this negative perception.

Some sources also talk of the ‘outsourcing’ of military services to some local and international armed groups that carried out covert military operations and targeted killings. These groups still remain a threat to the security of the country.

Last but not the least, the involvement of military officers in giving away contracts and accepting commission and bribe is one of the alarming factors to corrupt the army of a country. Keeping in view this dangerous trend, it is always advised that the military should be kept away from civilian interactions as they may also get corrupted in the process.

However, the United States was able to establish some massive army bases in some parts of the country. This can be regarded as the only positive achievement from the military point of view and if BSA is inked this year and American forces decide to stay beyond 2014, these bases would come very handy to keep an eye on the region.