US uses terrorism as a tool in Afghanistan: Ex-diplomat

A recent Taliban attack on a Shia village in northern Afghanistan has left 60 dead, including women and children. The Taliban have rejected reports that they cooperated with Daesh Takfiri militants in attacking the Mirza Olang village in the northern province of Sar-e Pol. Press TV has asked Michael Springmann, a former US diplomat, and Michael Lane, president of the American Institute for Foreign Policy, both from Washington, to give their thoughts on terrorism and its backgrounds in Afghanistan.

Springmann put the blame on the US for spreading terrorism in Afghanistan, saying Washington and its allies are using the so-called war on terror as an excuse to enhance their influence in Afghanistan and other countries.

“If you have an unstable country, you have much more influence than if you have a good solid democratic country with strong economy,” the former diplomat said on Thursday night.

He also described the United States’ promise to bring democracy and development to Afghanistan as a sham to pave the way for America to guarantee its presence and interests in the country.

“If you help the country destroy itself through terrorism, insurrection and civil war, you can then sell them products” and this is “a win-win situation for the Americans,” he noted.

According to Springmann, the Western intelligence agencies’ involvement in Afghanistan has brought about turmoil, death and destruction to the war-stricken country.

Two terrorist groups of Taliban, al-Qaeda and now Daesh wreak havoc in Afghanistan in line with the American foreign policy, he explained.

The Taliban regime which ruled Afghanistan between 996 and 2001 was recognized by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, all with close ties to terrorism and the United states, he said.

The commentator also censured the American invasion of Afghanistan, saying the idea that the Americans can somehow invade a country, precipitate civil war, riots and insurrections and then say the situation could get worse if they leave is unacceptable.

“The Americans and the other European countries seem to have the idea that they can impose a solution from the outside,” while they did not ask Afghans what they wanted to do, Springmann argued.

Lane, the other contributor on the program, said the raid on the village in Afghanistan has been “a coordinated attack” between the two groups of Taliban and Daesh.

“Most people are realistically concerned about whether or not this (attack) signals a new ongoing cooperation between the two groups,” he said.

“If they joined forces, it would bring a whole new perspective to the battlefield and the United States, the Afghan government and indeed the world ought to be concerned about it,” he said.

Insecurity has gripped Afghanistan since 2001, when the United States and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. Many parts of the country remain plagued by militancy despite the presence of foreign troops.

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