Afghans Cannot Be Pawns in 'Great Game'

The National logo, global utilities

-->33 °C FAQ Bookmark this page Sign In Register

Primary navigation

skip to main content Home UAE World Business Opinion Sport Arts Life The Review Magazine Weekender Multimedia Blogs Comment Editorials Cartoon Letters Arabic news digest Your View

main content

Editorials

Today's paper

Read the newspaper as it was printed

You make the news

Send us your stories and pictures

Your View e-polls e-paper Subscription Weather RSS Feeds e-poll document.write(''); content = document.getElementById("pollcontainer").innerHTML; myReg=/Sorry/; myAr=myReg.exec(content); if (myAr == "Sorry") { // document.getElementById("pollcontainer").style.height="0"; document.getElementById("pollcontainer").style.display="none"; } document.write(''); Afghans cannot be pawns of new ‘Great Game’

Last Updated: May 03. 2010 8:51PM UAE / May 3. 2010 4:51PM GMT

It has long been clear that a new “Great Game” is underway in Central Asia, with Afghanistan its focus. The old, 19th-century version of the “Great Game” featured the British and Russian empires competing for supremacy in the region. The latest version boasts India and China, as well as Pakistan and Iran, vying for influence, each fearing the other will use the strategically located nation as a stepping stone to threaten the other.

With word that a top Chinese general has purportedly spoken with the Afghan President Hamid Karzai and offered to train his security forces after the withdrawal of Nato troops, the new “Great Game” has now taken a significant – and perhaps perilous – turn. It is difficult for us to see anything good for Afghans coming from it.Western powers have long urged China to take a greater role in preserving international order, one in keeping with its global economic clout. But the report of the Chinese military's overture to Mr Karzai, published in a reliable Paris-based newsletter, indicates that Beijing may have more than its neighbour's stability in mind.

A China expert, John Lee, citing his conversations with senior Chinese military officers, says Beijing is interested in gaining “field experience” for its “untested” military, especially in the area of counterinsurgency. That is disturbing. Afghanistan must not be considered a training ground by the Chinese army, or for that matter, any other military force. In the often byzantine permutations that distinguish the new “Great Game”, it is also not hard to imagine that China is keen to come to the aid of its longtime ally Pakistan, which is on its back foot in Afghanistan, partly at the expense of arch-rival India. Delhi is unlikely to take well to any Chinese military machinations in Kabul, viewing them as part of a Beijing-Islamabad plot to encircle India. Of such perceptions conflagrations are made.

document.write('');

For his part, the weak Mr Karzai, who is due to meet the US president Barack Obama next week at the White House, might love to polish off an old geopolitical gambit and use an offer of Chinese military aid to play off Washington and Beijing against each other.This would be foolish, for while the US and Nato forces fret about training Afghanistan's security forces and “Afghanising” security, it is the “Lebanisation” of Afghanistan that worries us more.

Send to friend Print var addthis_pub="noahkhan"; var addthis_brand = "The National"; var addthis_logo = "http://www.thenational.ae/images/the_national_logo.gif"; var addthis_logo_color = "3261A5"; Afghans cannot be pawns of new ‘Great Game’

Last Updated: May 03. 2010 8:51PM UAE / May 3. 2010 4:51PM GMT

It has long been clear that a new “Great Game” is underway in Central Asia, with Afghanistan its focus. The old, 19th-century version of the “Great Game” featured the British and Russian empires competing for supremacy in the region. The latest version boasts India and China, as well as Pakistan and Iran, vying for influence, each fearing the other will use the strategically located nation as a stepping stone to threaten the other.

With word that a top Chinese general has purportedly spoken with the Afghan President Hamid Karzai and offered to train his security forces after the withdrawal of Nato troops, the new “Great Game” has now taken a significant – and perhaps perilous – turn. It is difficult for us to see anything good for Afghans coming from it.Western powers have long urged China to take a greater role in preserving international order, one in keeping with its global economic clout. But the report of the Chinese military's overture to Mr Karzai, published in a reliable Paris-based newsletter, indicates that Beijing may have more than its neighbour's stability in mind.

A China expert, John Lee, citing his conversations with senior Chinese military officers, says Beijing is interested in gaining “field experience” for its “untested” military, especially in the area of counterinsurgency. That is disturbing. Afghanistan must not be considered a training ground by the Chinese army, or for that matter, any other military force. In the often byzantine permutations that distinguish the new “Great Game”, it is also not hard to imagine that China is keen to come to the aid of its longtime ally Pakistan, which is on its back foot in Afghanistan, partly at the expense of arch-rival India. Delhi is unlikely to take well to any Chinese military machinations in Kabul, viewing them as part of a Beijing-Islamabad plot to encircle India. Of such perceptions conflagrations are made.

document.write('');

For his part, the weak Mr Karzai, who is due to meet the US president Barack Obama next week at the White House, might love to polish off an old geopolitical gambit and use an offer of Chinese military aid to play off Washington and Beijing against each other.This would be foolish, for while the US and Nato forces fret about training Afghanistan's security forces and “Afghanising” security, it is the “Lebanisation” of Afghanistan that worries us more.

Send to friend Print var addthis_pub="noahkhan"; var addthis_brand = "The National"; var addthis_logo = "http://www.thenational.ae/images/the_national_logo.gif"; var addthis_logo_color = "3261A5"; Bookmark & Share function storeCaret(textEl) { if (textEl.createTextRange) textEl.caretPos = document.selection.createRange().duplicate(); } if ((document.all) && (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Opera')== -1)) { IE = true; } else { IE = false; } function doSubmitMessage(aFormId,aUrl){ aForumForm = aFormId; aCreateUrl = aUrl+"&omniture=0"; aForumMessageUrl = ''; aAjaxDiv = document.getElementById("cpost"); processForum(aAjaxDiv); }

Have your say

Please log in to post a comment try { if (document.getElementById("_userEmail").innerHTML = '') { document.newmessageform.Body.disabled=true; document.newmessageform.post.disabled = true; } } catch(e) { document.newmessageform.Body.disabled = true; document.newmessageform.post.disabled = true; } Other Opinion stories The background to resumption of talks Emirati film City of Life succeeds on all levels Road to a one-state solution is paved with good intentions Afghans cannot be pawns of new 'Great Game' Something's rotten in the IPL – and in India to the core Abuse of labour laws destroys lives document.write(''); Top stories Suspect held in New York bomb attempt Building firm abandons 1,000 in camp without water or power Mumbai gunman guilty of 'act of war' Sharjah struggles to control stray pets Boy who lost limbs in Gaza war finds his sea legs Mubadala to sell shares in its local companies Robertson overcomes Dott to triumph Your View Did you use the new Metro stations? Tell us how it went.Have you been affected by the Sharjah road toll?Will you be paying the Dh100 Sharjah road toll?Has your company cut back on its health insurance provisions?What were your impressions of Womad? Most popular stories Most read Most e-mailed New rules bring rush for ID cards Building firm abandons 1,000 in camp without water or power Mubadala to sell shares in its local companies Suspect held in New York bomb attempt Boy who lost limbs in Gaza war finds his sea legs Sharjah struggles to control stray pets Mumbai gunman guilty of 'act of war' Tourists with 'low' jobs turned away at border Ahmadinejad's UN salvo prompts western walkout Rovers leave Fabianski exposed Tourists with 'low' jobs turned away at border International City awash in sewage One small chocolate, just Dh920 a bite Israel 'playing with fire' with Western Wall construction ConocoPhillips quits $10bn Shah gas project A bath night that ended with a home delivery Silicon Oasis runs out of water Saudi religious police chief risks job by backing mixing of sexes Sheikh Zayed Bridge may open in October as new contractors arrive DIFC ready to reduce its holdings after losses var countries=new ddtabcontent("countrytabs") countries.setpersist(true) countries.setselectedClassTarget("link") //"link" or "linkparent" countries.init() Products & Services Your View e-polls e-Paper RSS Feeds Home UAE World Business Sport About us Contact us Terms & Conditions FAQ Site map

© Copyright of Abu Dhabi Media Company PJSC.

var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-4452332-2"); pageTracker._initData(); pageTracker._trackPageview(); //-1?'https:':'http:') +unescape('//me.effectivemeasure.net/em.js%22%3E%3C/script%3E')); //]]> var pvar = { cid: "mena-admedia", content: "0", sample_size: 10, server: "secure-uk" }; var feat = { surveys_enabled: 1 }; var trac = nol_t(pvar, feat); var _rsND = trac.getSchemeHost(); var _rsCI = "mena-admedia"; trac.record().post().do_sample(); var doLoad = true; if (doLoad) { updatePollMini(); } s.Account="saxotechthenational" s.cookieDomainPeriods="2" s.pageName="Opinion,Afghans cannot be pawns of new 'Great Game:20100504:705039926" s.server="S260608AT1VW

It has long been clear that a new “Great Game” is underway in Central Asia, with Afghanistan its focus. The old, 19th-century version of the “Great Game” featured the British and Russian empires competing for supremacy in the region. The latest version boasts India and China, as well as Pakistan and Iran, vying for influence, each fearing the other will use the strategically located nation as a stepping stone to threaten the other.

With word that a top Chinese general has purportedly spoken with the Afghan President Hamid Karzai and offered to train his security forces after the withdrawal of Nato troops, the new “Great Game” has now taken a significant – and perhaps perilous – turn. It is difficult for us to see anything good for Afghans coming from it.Western powers have long urged China to take a greater role in preserving international order, one in keeping with its global economic clout. But the report of the Chinese military's overture to Mr Karzai, published in a reliable Paris-based newsletter, indicates that Beijing may have more than its neighbour's stability in mind.

A China expert, John Lee, citing his conversations with senior Chinese military officers, says Beijing is interested in gaining “field experience” for its “untested” military, especially in the area of counterinsurgency. That is disturbing. Afghanistan must not be considered a training ground by the Chinese army, or for that matter, any other military force. In the often byzantine permutations that distinguish the new “Great Game”, it is also not hard to imagine that China is keen to come to the aid of its longtime ally Pakistan, which is on its back foot in Afghanistan, partly at the expense of arch-rival India. Delhi is unlikely to take well to any Chinese military machinations in Kabul, viewing them as part of a Beijing-Islamabad plot to encircle India. Of such perceptions conflagrations are made.

For his part, the weak Mr Karzai, who is due to meet the US president Barack Obama next week at the White House, might love to polish off an old geopolitical gambit and use an offer of Chinese military aid to play off Washington and Beijing against each other.This would be foolish, for while the US and Nato forces fret about training Afghanistan's security forces and “Afghanising” security, it is the “Lebanisation” of Afghanistan that worries us more.

Have your say

Top stories Suspect held in New York bomb attempt Building firm abandons 1,000 in camp without water or power Mumbai gunman guilty of 'act of war' Sharjah struggles to control stray pets Boy who lost limbs in Gaza war finds his sea legs Mubadala to sell shares in its local companies Robertson overcomes Dott to triumph Your View Did you use the new Metro stations? Tell us how it went.Have you been affected by the Sharjah road toll?Will you be paying the Dh100 Sharjah road toll?Has your company cut back on its health insurance provisions?What were your impressions of Womad? Most popular stories Most read Most e-mailed New rules bring rush for ID cards Building firm abandons 1,000 in camp without water or power Mubadala to sell shares in its local companies Suspect held in New York bomb attempt Boy who lost limbs in Gaza war finds his sea legs Sharjah struggles to control stray pets Mumbai gunman guilty of 'act of war' Tourists with 'low' jobs turned away at border Ahmadinejad's UN salvo prompts western walkout Rovers leave Fabianski exposed Tourists with 'low' jobs turned away at border International City awash in sewage One small chocolate, just Dh920 a bite Israel 'playing with fire' with Western Wall construction ConocoPhillips quits $10bn Shah gas project A bath night that ended with a home delivery Silicon Oasis runs out of water Saudi religious police chief risks job by backing mixing of sexes Sheikh Zayed Bridge may open in October as new contractors arrive DIFC ready to reduce its holdings after losses var countries=new ddtabcontent("countrytabs") countries.setpersist(true) countries.setselectedClassTarget("link") //"link" or "linkparent" countries.init() Products & Services Your View e-polls e-Paper RSS Feeds Home UAE World Business Sport About us Contact us Terms & Conditions FAQ Site map

© Copyright of Abu Dhabi Media Company PJSC.

var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-4452332-2"); pageTracker._initData(); pageTracker._trackPageview(); //-1?'https:':'http:') +unescape('//me.effectivemeasure.net/em.js%22%3E%3C/script%3E')); //]]> var pvar = { cid: "mena-admedia", content: "0", sample_size: 10, server: "secure-uk" }; var feat = { surveys_enabled: 1 }; var trac = nol_t(pvar, feat); var _rsND = trac.getSchemeHost(); var _rsCI = "mena-admedia"; trac.record().post().do_sample(); var doLoad = true; if (doLoad) { updatePollMini(); } s.Account="saxotechthenational" s.cookieDomainPeriods="2" s.pageName="Opinion,Afghans cannot be pawns of new 'Great Game:20100504:705039926" s.server="S260608AT1VW925" s.channel="Opinion" /* Traffic Variables */ s.prop1="Story" /* E-commerce Variables */ s.events="event3" s.products="Poll;Eating in Dubai restaurants is.../Eating in Dubai restaurants is..." /* Hierarchy Variables */ s.hier1="Opinion,Afghans cannot be pawns of new 'Great Game:20100504:705039926" /************* DO NOT ALTER ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE ! **************/ var s_code=s.t(); if(s_code)document.write(s_code)Read Full Article »