Despite Presidential Legacy Goals, Obama Agrees to Slow Afghanistan Troop Drawdown

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U.S. Soldier in Afghanistan, Courtesy of the U.S. Army

U.S. Soldier in Afghanistan, Courtesy of the U.S. Army

AFGHANISTAN - In March, President Obama announced that troop levels in Afghanistan would not be reduced, despite the president's pledge to decrease the number by half. In the following weeks a flood of diplomatic engagements, press conferences and speculation by world leaders unraveled about what the bilateral relationship will look like in the coming months and years.

What has become clear is an already tense and fragile relationship has become increasingly volatile with the rise of ISIS, coupled with the lessons learned from Iraq’s draw downs. In Iraq, many think we withdrew too quickly, leaving the vulnerable Iraqi troops to fend for themselves against ISIS, who advanced quickly against the inexperienced resistance.

Despite these factors, amplified lobbying efforts by President Ashraf Ghani certainly doesn't bode well for Obama’s plan to get half of the troops remaining in Afghanistan out by the end of 2015. With these pressures accumulating for months, Obama has officially decided to slow his planned troop draw down by scratching the 50% reduction in troops he was planning for the end of 2015. Now, the plan is to keep 10,000 troops in Afghanistan through the end of 2015, when the timeline will be further evaluated and structured for 2016.

Regardless of this major decision, Obama is unyielding on his benchmark goal of ending the war in Afghanistan before his Presidency comes to an end. Therefore, while there may be 10,000 troops in Afghanistan in December, he plans to have only a few hundred troops at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul left in the country by the end of 2016. The pace of this drawdown, though, is yet to be situated.

No doubt the White House, Pentagon, CIA and others are weighing the pros and cons versus staying longer to establish peace and stability, a strong Afghan military, and a more robust response to ISIS advances – but there is the eternal reminder that this is already America’s longest war and it cannot drag on forever. And while Obama may be dogged about having troops out by the end of 2016, he may be outweighed by recommendations from senior advisers and officials in these agencies who are pushing for Americans to stay longer and lock in the progress made over the last 13-years. It remains to be seen who will win this fight.

Africa Correspondent: @JessamyNichols
LinkedIn: Jessamy Nichols

Pakistani Elections: Uncertain, Yet Laudable Milestone

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Sam Hargadine, ContributorLast Modified: 13:40 p.m. DST, 03 April 2013

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Photo by Reuters, Faisal Mahmood, Pakistan Politics Election

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The smoke filled back-rooms of Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, would make even 1920s Chicago blush. Power is concentrated among a few connected families with long histories intertwined by periods of conflict and cooperation.

Often times it seems the phrase, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend', is an apt characterization for the evolving coalitions that have kept the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in power.

But stay in power it has, at least for its first five-year term. For the first time since Pakistan's partition from India, in 1947, a civilian government is preparing to transfer power democratically. Elections are scheduled for 11 May 2013; however, the outcome is uncertain.

The PPP has marked its five-year tenure with corruption charges, poor governance, and weak oversight of the military. The likelihood of it retaining power is bleak.

The leading candidates include the main conservative opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif; Imran Khan, a famous cricket star; and (less likely) former military dictator Pervez Musharraf.

The PPP's most important security victory has been the relative pacification of the Swat Province in Northwest Pakistan. This achievement is distracted from however by Karachi's, Pakistan's business hub, slide towards violence. Minority groups and religious moderates are consistently threatened and/or attacked there.

All in all, the PPP should be given credit for its completion of a five-year term. It managed to wield enough influence among the military to stave off a coup; no small feat for a country that has had gruesome natural disasters and security breaches in the last term.

This laudable milestone however does not mean the PPP deserves to retain power. Transferring power will be current President Zadari's legacy. It is either that or a legacy of extreme corruption and impotency.

Follow Sam Hargadine on Twitter
Twitter: @nahmias_report Contributor: @SamHargadine

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Muslim Cleric Burns Qur'an, Frames Girl

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 00:38 AM EDT, 5 September 2012

Girl with Green Shawl, Peshawar, Pakistan, 2002, Photo by Dr. RizISLAMABAD, Pakistan - On 2 September 2012, Pakistani police officials have conceded that the young Christian girl, Rimsha Masih, who was arrested and being detained under the blasphemy law, was wrongly accused.

Police have determined that she was framed by a local Muslim cleric, Khalid Jadoon, who was among the first to accuse her of burning the Qur'an, a crime that is punishable by death under Section 295-C of the blasphemy law.

This section of the law states that, “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.”

Masih is not the first female to fall victim to a law which some believe is designed less to protect the sanctity of the Qur'an, and more about disenfranchising Christians, Hindus, Ahmadies, and Shias, silencing dissident Muslims, and in some cases used as a tool by larcenous individuals to appropriate the property of others.

In July 2010 two Christian brothers who were accused of writing a blasphemous letter against the Prophet Mohammad were gunned down outside a court in the eastern city of Faisalabad. Then in November of that same year, a Christian mother of five, Asia Bibi, was convicted and sentenced to death under this law and remains on death row.

According to the Associated Press “a local man, Hafiz Zubair, came forward to offer testimony in which he claims to have seen Jadoon fabricating evidence by mixing holy text pages with ashes. Speaking to a local news channel, Zubair said: ‘I asked Jadoon why he was fabricating the evidence. He said that this would ensure a strong case against the girl and would ultimately help them in evicting the Christians from the locality.’"

Despite Jadoon’s arrest and vociferous national and international pressure to secure her freedom, Masih remains incarcerated. Attempts to overturn the blasphemy law have met with violent opposition including the assassination of two high profile Pakistani politicians; former Governor Punjabi Salman Taseer and Federal Minority Minister Shahbaz Bhatti both of whom opposed the death sentence of Asia Bibi.

Since 2009 Christian churches and houses across Pakistan have been targeted and burned by Muslim neighbors who had been incited to violence by false accusations of the desecration of the Qur'an. During at least one of these rampages reportedly seven Christians were burned alive. Christians, who make up four percent of Pakistan's population of 180 million, have faced increased persecution under the blasphemy law.

Follow Nahmias Cipher Report on Twitter
Twitter: @nahmias_report Editor: @ayannanahmias

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