During Unannounced Visit to Afghanistan, Tillerson Reaffirms Obama-Bush Imperialism but Opens Door to Taliban Reconciliation
Current U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, made an unannounced stop in his swing through the Middle East yesterday for a meeting and photo-op with Afghanistan’s current president, Ashraf Ghani, at Bagram Airfield. During the brief press conference, thanked U.S. service personnel for “all of the effort that they’ve put forth to work towards a peace, which is really our objective”. Tillerson quickly made it clear that U.S. “support for a sovereign, unified, and democratic Afghanistan” was subordinate to America’s amorphous war on terror by stating, “It is imperative at the end that we are denying safe haven to any terrorist organizations or any extremists to any part of this – the world .”
There’s a place for moderate Taliban in the government
Secretary Tillerson’s statements during his brief visit to the largest U.S. military installation in Afghanistan consisted of predictable reaffirmations of America’s never-ending imperialistic occupation of the country. Like his predecessors from the Obama and Bush Administrations, Tillerson justified the sixteen-year-old U.S. occupation of Afghanistan in terms of fighting global terrorism and Afghan democracy. In response to limited questions, however, Secretary Tillerson also stated that the U.S. believes there are “moderate voices among the Taliban” and that “we are looking to engage with those voices and have them engage in a reconciliation process leading to a peace process and their full involvement and participation in the government.”
Tillerson concluded his statements on potential reconciliation with at least some Taliban by saying, “There’s a place for them in the government if they’re ready to come renouncing terrorism, renouncing violence, and being committed to a stable, prosperous Afghanistan.” So does this mean a softening stance on Afghanistan by the Trump Administration? That’s highly unlikely in light of the announcement in August of the deployment of an additional 4,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan and Trump’s refusal to commit to any target date to end U.S. military occupation.
Calm Preparations Before the Storm?
President Trump’s rhetoric, as well as his choice of cabinet members, has made it clear he is itching to launch yet another American war. In a recent photo-op with military brass, Trump even suggested a “storm” may be coming. Coupled with the additional troop deployment to Afghanistan and Trump’s recent amendment of Executive Order 13223, allowing him to recall retired military pilots to active duty, Tillerson’s visit to Afghanistan and the rest of his trip through the Middle East likely foreshadows another American war rather than support for democracy and peace in the region. After all, nothing sells with Trump’s MAGA voter-base like blowing shit up, right?
