“The focus of Mr. Obama’s foreign policy was on Pakistan rather than Afghanistan.” President Barack Obama with his then Afghan counterpart, President Hamid Karzai, in the White House in Washington. For Afghanistan and the Afghans, Mr. Obama was a President of contradiction whose Afghan policy proved markedly disastrous. The Obama administration severely undermined human rights by downplaying the threat of its overall military operations to civilian lives in Afghanistan. The substantial militarisation of the U.S. Afghan policy and the expansion of war killed any chance of peace in Afghanistan. On Afghanistan, Mr. Trump should embrace a vibrant diplomacy and regional cooperation towards Russia, China, India and Iran.

Source: The Hindu January 17, 2017 18:45 UTC