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Foreign powers hijack Afghan peace process

Foreign meddling in Afghan affairs has done more damage than good over the past two centuries, especially since 1973 when King Zahir Shah was ousted in a bloodless coup due to the confluence of three external anti-nationalist phenomena: communism, pan-Islamic extremism and CIA intrigue.

Today the Afghans are trapped in a violent nexus between three other essentially non-indigenous forces: the Karzai regime, Karzai’s Western benefactors and the Taliban as other outside interlopers try to shepherd a peace process that exists in name only.

The U.S. has gone so far as to applaud the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar, without consulting the Afghans, which has carved a path for the Taliban to be recognized by the international community as a legitimate political entity.

Meanwhile, rogue initiatives by certain U.S. politicians who have publicly supported the northern alliance could lead to political fragmentation within Afghanistan. These northern warlords are just as sadistic and have as much blood on their hands as the Taliban, not to mention a policy based on backing Panjshiri-led minority groups against the Pashtun majority is a formula for perpetual civil war.