Washington will not allow Afghanistan to be a safe haven for terrorism, say Secretaries of State and Defence in Australia

The U.S. will keep its military engagement in Afghanistan open-ended, Secretary of Defence James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have indicated. Speaking in Sydney on Tuesday, where the senior officials of the Trump administration attended the Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations, the Secretaries said the U.S. would not allow Afghanistan to be a safe haven for terrorism. “We can never allow Afghanistan to become a platform for terrorism to operate from,” said Mr. Tillerson. Making the point more emphatic, Mr. Mattis added: “…the bottom line is we’re not going to surrender civilisation to people who cannot win at the ballot box,” referring to the Taliban.

The U.S. national security officials are reviewing the country’s Afghanistan policy, which is likely to be announced some time this month. But the Trump administration appears to be already taking a view that presetting timelines for leaving Afghanistan limits its military options.

Kabul process

While the administration supports the Kabul process for reconciliation — Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Adviser for South and Central Asian Affairs at the NSA Lisa Curtis and Acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Laura Miller attended the conference called by President Ashraf Ghani this week — it may want to change the situation on the ground militarily, before any political process could progress.

“…the policy is under review, but at the same time, we’re up against an enemy that knows that they cannot win at the ballot box. That’s why they use bombs, because ballots would ensure they never had a role to play, and based upon that foundation, that they cannot win the support, the affection, the respect of the Afghan people. We will stand by them,” Mr. Mattis, who has served in Afghanistan as a military officer, said.

Several experts have advised the administration that unless the U.S. commits a long-term engagement, there can be no movement toward a resolution. “Political negotiations are fine, but we must be aware that this is a 21st century negotiation with a seventh century group,” said Husain Haqqani, Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute in Washington.

“Open-ended commitment in supporting the nascent Afghan state and buttressing infantile Afghan army and security forces, is imperative,” said Mohammad Taqi, Peshawar-born American commentator on the region. “The U.S must identify Taliban, not just al-Qaeda, as an enemy and also identify the Taliban-backers as openly hostile to the U.S,” he said, adding that unless U.S stops its indulgence of Pakistan, no resolution is possible in Afghanistan.