By Javad Heirannia:
Former Afghan foreign minister Najibullah Lafraie says that "Plan C" is a continuation of Western plans for Afghanistan.
“after it became evident that "Plan A" (to have Afghanistan under occupation or at least as part of American sphere of influence) would not work, deliberations on alternatives started “, Lafraie tells the Khabar Online.
Following is the text of the interview:
Plan “C” divides Afghanistan into eight zones, based around the "economic hubs" of Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kunduz, Jalalabad, Khost and Bamyan. What are the real goals of this plan?
As the code name "Plan C" shows, this is a continuation of Western plans for Afghanistan. After it became evident that "Plan A" (to have Afghanistan under occupation or at least as part of American sphere of influence) would not work, deliberations on alternatives started. "Plan B" was proposed by Robert Blackwill, former US ambassador to India, in 2010:( http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67026/robert-d-blackwill/plan-b-in-afghanistan).
It called for division of Afghanistan into two parts, the Taliban-led south and the rest under an American puppet. It seems to me that that plan is still the preferable one for the Americans. The British with their colonial experience, however, seem to think that they might need to give other regional powers a share in the pie to make the plan of dividing Afghanistan successful. Thus, "Plan C".
Before leaving the U.S forces from Afghanistan, can they reach to an agreement by Taliban?
Recent comments from American officials show that they may have given up hope of reaching an agreement with the Taliban through negotiations. Now they seem to pin their hopes on Karzai or his successor achieving some kind of understanding with the Taliban on the basis of Blackwill's plan. In this regard, we should not forget that Americans "leaving" Afghanistan does not mean total withdrawal. Most probably, 20 to 30 thousand American troops will remain in the country beyond 2014 for "training" Afghan security forces!
Najibullah Lafraie was the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan between 1992 and 1996. He is now a lecturer in political studies at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.
