While I agree with ur pov and would love to see Indian troops in Afghanistan I have some questions. Do we have the capability. We are already talking abt 2 front war with China pak combined. Can we commit to another war at the same time. It will become 3 front war scenario. Secondly what will be the objectives of Indian intervention. If US could not remove Taliban in 16 long years how long India would have to sustain. Wont Indian public and opposition ask pressurise Govt the same way happening in USA. Third India entering directly in Afghan will also require US to totally ditch Pak. Is US ready to do that. Its the only vassal state available for sale in South Asia. Till these answers are available its best to stay away from that pit called Afpak
A third issue is one that received only a passing reference in the India-Afghanistan Joint Statement, and none at all in the US strategy. This is the question of narcotics. Afghanistan continues to be the largest opium producer in the world, with opiate production surging every year after a brief dip in 2015. What is of even more relevance to the war in Afghanistan is that an overwhelming 85 percent of areas under cultivation are under Taliban control or areas of high influence. Simply put, an erosion of the narcotics trade would seriously hit Taliban funds and Taliban leaders personally. Leaders like Maulvi Abdul Zahir, formerly agriculture minister in the Taliban government, is known to be heavily involved in narcotics trafficking. Another drug lord was a minister for Haj and religious affairs.
Analysts now believe that the Taliban are a drug cartel in the fullest sense of the term. In fact, a large part of the fighting is believed to be dictated by the need to exert control over drug routes or cultivation areas. Witness the jostling for Badghis which is the entry for trade into Russia and the almost unending fight for Helmand, the wellspring of drug cultivation. Unsurprisingly, the nodes of finance are in Pakistan, often under the control of Taliban leaders or their cutouts.
It is hardly likely that Pakistan Intelligence would be unaware of its activities. Indeed, with much of drug money being banked in Pakistan,
it is entirely possible that this segment this forms a significant part of Pakistan’s own economy. Analysts have argued reasonably that fighting the Taliban, while allowing them to rake in the profits of the drug industry is like trying to empty out a well with a bucket of water. Counter Narcotics experts in their turn have called for a complete and effective ending of narcotics production with the use of aerial spraying among other methods. However, US officials and aid agencies feel that such a move would ruin Afghanistan, and add unemployed youth to the ranks of the Taliban.
In this assessment, they are only partly right. They forget that in the 1970s Afghanistan was once self-sufficient in food production, and a net exporter of agricultural produce, including dried fruits and nuts, or derived from agricultural products including karakul skins, wool, cotton, and rugs. This long-lost capability can be revived, if India and the US work together to knit projected Indian assistance in hydropower and irrigation, to US counter-narcotics expertise. Certainly, such an effort will have to move district by district, eliciting local support in these areas.
http://www.firstpost.com/india/indi...shington-cannot-rely-on-pakistan-4095125.html
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Reading most commenters of the thread, makes me understand why Bharatvarsh will not be a power the world fears/respects for decades to come.
Such opportunities come once in a decade when the Yanks themselves are asking for help. Last time they asked was in 2001. ABV hesitated. That was a mistake.
This time, if we do not put boots on the ground, it will be another mistake.
Ground realities in Afghan and world perception tho tells a different story about STRONG INDIA.
We dont need boots on the ground to be world dominant force. We just need to work the soft power factor harder and efficient.
If USA has instilled FEAR and RESPECT Afghan would have been solved by now..
BUT..
we know, what happened..
https://www.rt.com/news/india-afghans-afghanistan-projects/
They have invested some $50 billion in the country, some 50 times what India has put into the country.
And yet according to a recent poll, one in two Afghans want America out, while three in four want India in.
“We have a long history of friendly relations between Afghanistan and India,” said political analyst Matiullah Kharoti. “
India is our only neighbor who does not interfere in our internal affairs.”
On the streets of Kabul, you do not have to walk too far to feel India and smell its unmistakably spicy flavor.
Share-now Dehli Darbar Indian chef says that in Afghanistan he can find whatever he wants.
“
Lots of Afghans speak my language, there are Indian CDs, Indian books and our languages are very similar,” he said.
And India’s role here in the medical and construction industries has not gone unrecognized.
This is one of the projects built by Indians four years ago. It brings water down from a river several kilometers away so that farmers here can easily cultivate their land.
Young Afghans are all involved in development work. They say where India falls short in terms of cash support, it more than makes up for in understanding the needs of Afghanistan.
Many complain that American projects are often inefficient and poorly resourced, while analysts say India is just better than the US at developing projects Afghans want and appreciate.
“
Afghans love India,” Kharoti said. “
In my experience, India is just better at implementing projects than the United States. US projects often suffer from inefficiency and bad planning.”
India is clearly held in high regard here, and it seems they have not had to buy this positive reputation – a fact that could leave Americans scratching their heads as they continue to bankroll their costly Afghanistan strategy.
Boots on the ground in todays world is interpreted as INVASION.
India has commanded respect in African nations with its transparency and people connect projects than the INVADING CHINA!!!
So it tells the story that without BOOTS on the ground, India gets super strong.
