NR: "Afghanistan is a war
being waged within many wars."
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Length: 3:37
LARGE (42.2 MB)
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Michael's prepared piece about who the enemies
are in Afghanistan. (VO only)
MICHAEL
WARE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over):
These American soldiers fight for their lives in
Afghanistan, besieged repeatedly by Taliban assaults,
roadside bombs and ambush, with the American death
toll ever rising. But for America to ultimately win
in Afghanistan, it must overcome more than just the
Taliban insurgents, for Afghanistan is a war being
waged within many wars. Some overt, some not.
It is a battlefield for a host of competing
interests, a proxy war between Pakistan and India,
competition for influence from Iran and even China.
Rivalries waged not just with bombs and bullets, but
with billions in aid and reconstruction projects,
with spies and with trade. And the United States is
mired in the middle of them all.
Among Americans adversaries foremost is the Afghan
Taliban. Ousted from government in 2001 by the U.S.
invasion, its fighters and commanders have been
launching their attacks for eight years from safe
havens just across the Pakistani border from valleys
like these.
Though Pakistan is technically an American ally, it
suits Pakistan's strategic interest to allow these
Afghan fighters to shelter along its borders. For
there are two Talibans; one Afghan fighting the
Americans and one Pakistani an entirely different
Taliban, it's aim to overthrow the Pakistani
government.
The Pakistani military has taken the fight to the
homegrown Taliban, but does little to disrupt the
Afghan Taliban. Why? The answer put simply is because
of India. For decades Pakistan and India have been
bitter rivals, fighting wars and arguing over
disputed borders. For both, Afghanistan is just yet
another battlefield in which to fight.
India backs the Afghan government and the forces that
had fought against the Taliban. Meanwhile, elements
in the Pakistani government tacitly support the
Afghans fighting against that same Afghan government.
This carnage perhaps the most obvious sign of that
friction. It's the Indian embassy in Kabul ravaged by
a massive bombing last year. A bombing U.S.
intelligence claims was helped by Pakistan's spy
agency.
Then, there is Iran -- willing to help anyone who
would fight against America. Its role adding another
layer to an already complicated battleground.
This Afghan Army general commands all Afghan forces
in the country's south and he says the Iranians are
supplying the Taliban. "Unfortunately," he says, "we
find many weapons and explosives with Iranian
markings." And he claims, "We have much evidence that
small pockets of Afghan insurgents are being trained
in Iran and deployed to fight against U.S. troops."
As President Obama unveils his new strategy for
America's war in Afghanistan, he must contend with
all of this -- an ever stronger Taliban, his
nuclear-armed allies India and Pakistan vying with
each other, as well as the subtle hand of Iran, none
of which bodes for a quick nor easy victory in what
has become Obama's war.
Michael Ware, CNN, New York.