Daily Analysis of 'The Hindu' - 5th March, 2020 | Additional Study Material for UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


The sum and substance of the Afghan deal
?As former U.S. Defence Secretary General Mattis put
it, “The U.S. doe sn ’ t lose wars, it loses
interest. ”
?U.S. Special Envoy Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and
former Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani
Baradar.
?The U.S. is on its way out and second, this does not
ensure peace for theAfghan people.
?Shades of Vietnam
Page 2


The sum and substance of the Afghan deal
?As former U.S. Defence Secretary General Mattis put
it, “The U.S. doe sn ’ t lose wars, it loses
interest. ”
?U.S. Special Envoy Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and
former Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani
Baradar.
?The U.S. is on its way out and second, this does not
ensure peace for theAfghan people.
?Shades of Vietnam
Page 3


The sum and substance of the Afghan deal
?As former U.S. Defence Secretary General Mattis put
it, “The U.S. doe sn ’ t lose wars, it loses
interest. ”
?U.S. Special Envoy Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and
former Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani
Baradar.
?The U.S. is on its way out and second, this does not
ensure peace for theAfghan people.
?Shades of Vietnam
?U.S. President Richard Nixon had faced a similar
dilemma.
?Seeking an exit, his National Security Adviser
Henry Kissinger, during his secret visit to Beijing
in July 1971, assured Premier Zhou Enlai that the
U.S. was prepared to withdraw completely from
Vietnam in return for release of U.S. prisoners of
war and a ceasefire lasting “a decent interval ”.
?Kissinger and Nixon knew that the deal would
leave their ally, the South Vietnamese government
led by President Thieu, vulnerable.
Page 4


The sum and substance of the Afghan deal
?As former U.S. Defence Secretary General Mattis put
it, “The U.S. doe sn ’ t lose wars, it loses
interest. ”
?U.S. Special Envoy Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and
former Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani
Baradar.
?The U.S. is on its way out and second, this does not
ensure peace for theAfghan people.
?Shades of Vietnam
?U.S. President Richard Nixon had faced a similar
dilemma.
?Seeking an exit, his National Security Adviser
Henry Kissinger, during his secret visit to Beijing
in July 1971, assured Premier Zhou Enlai that the
U.S. was prepared to withdraw completely from
Vietnam in return for release of U.S. prisoners of
war and a ceasefire lasting “a decent interval ”.
?Kissinger and Nixon knew that the deal would
leave their ally, the South Vietnamese government
led by President Thieu, vulnerable.
?Nixon was re-elected with a record margin in
November 1972 on the platform that peace was at
hand.
?Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese forces on April
30, 1975.
?To win his re-election, Nixon had promised an
honourable peace and delivered a delayed
defeat, but by then the world had moved on. Dr.
Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 (joint
winner).
Page 5


The sum and substance of the Afghan deal
?As former U.S. Defence Secretary General Mattis put
it, “The U.S. doe sn ’ t lose wars, it loses
interest. ”
?U.S. Special Envoy Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and
former Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani
Baradar.
?The U.S. is on its way out and second, this does not
ensure peace for theAfghan people.
?Shades of Vietnam
?U.S. President Richard Nixon had faced a similar
dilemma.
?Seeking an exit, his National Security Adviser
Henry Kissinger, during his secret visit to Beijing
in July 1971, assured Premier Zhou Enlai that the
U.S. was prepared to withdraw completely from
Vietnam in return for release of U.S. prisoners of
war and a ceasefire lasting “a decent interval ”.
?Kissinger and Nixon knew that the deal would
leave their ally, the South Vietnamese government
led by President Thieu, vulnerable.
?Nixon was re-elected with a record margin in
November 1972 on the platform that peace was at
hand.
?Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese forces on April
30, 1975.
?To win his re-election, Nixon had promised an
honourable peace and delivered a delayed
defeat, but by then the world had moved on. Dr.
Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 (joint
winner).
?Mr. T rump’ s 2017 policy aimed at breaking the
military stalemate inAfghanistan.
?A three-way negotiation ensued.
i. Doha track with the Taliban
ii. Islamabad/Rawalpindi
iii. Kabul to ensure that the Afghan government would accept
the outcome
?The deal was ready to be signed last September when
Mr. Trump abruptly called it off, stalling the process.
?National Security Adviser John Bolton’ s dismissal (he
was opposed) and the release of three high-level
Taliban militants including Anas Haqqani (Sirajuddin
Haqq ani’ s brother) in November helped smoothen
issues.