In his series titled “The Power of God in the Great Empires,” jihadi blogger Akram Hijazi has criticized President Obama’s new Afghanistan strategy and questioned the actual US commitment to this strategy. In the third installment titled “Strategic Crisis and NATO’s Humiliations,” he claims that multinational forces in Afghanistan are suffering severe coordination problems and Europeans are beginning to question the utility of the war.
Hijazi believes that Americans understand the time commitment for the new strategy, but are unsure about the strategy. He states that if there is not progress by next summer, the Obama administration will lose support for the war.
Hijazi claims that like the United States, the British government has been concealing the realities of the war from its citizens, who are just now starting to consider the war seriously. He posits that the British are facing higher costs in blood and financial strain, causing many to question the ability to win and the war’s affect on Britain’s military readiness.
Likewise, Hijazi mentions that NATO forces are facing increased loses and costs from the fighting. As a result, other NATO allies are questioning the war as well. He claims that Afghanistan is another NATO failure after the alliance’s failure to gather enough troops for Iraq or Afghanistan, to use Turkey as a staging ground for Iraq, to coordinate between the various represented countries, and to protect its troops.
In short, Hijazi insinuates that British and NATO support for Afghanistan is reaching its end due to increased causalities and financial costs. Whether or not he is correct remains to be seen. However, jihadis appreciate his reasoning because he makes the arguments as them, using all English-language sources, which, in jihadi eyes, adds credibility to the argument that the Taliban are winning in Afghanistan.
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