(by Pasquale Preziosa) On the first of January, President Trump, in one of the usual tweets wrote: “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan 33 billion dollars in aids over last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more! ".
The president of the United States accuses, with the new media, which are supplanting those of the historical diplomacy, Pakistan to have received from the US 33 billions of dollars in 15 years, receiving in return only lies and adds that Pakistan is a place safe for terrorists.
It is a clear accusation of what the US thinks of one of the key countries in the Afghan picture.
In return, using similar news exchange systems, this time the Pakistani GEO TV, Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Khawaja Asif, said that the policy of Pakistan is clear and will not do more, the country is ready to provide details on aid received from the USA.
The Pakistani defense ministry in a tweet replying to Trump, two hours later, reports that Pakistan, as an ally in the fight against terrorism, has given the USA in the sixteen years of the fight against terrorism access to the whole territory, military intelligence cooperation that served to decimate Al Qaeda, receiving in return no recognition and lack of trust.
The US ambassador to Pakistan was called by the Pakistani Defense Minister, Khurram Dastgir Khan, who filed a formal protest over the tweet of the US president deemed untrue.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Afghan Ambassador to the US support Trump's tweet. President Karzai accuses Pakistan of having been ambiguous for the past 15 years.
Pakistan believes that all these US statements are due to the fact that the campaign in Afghanistan is to be considered lost to the United States (Mr. Trump was bitter two to the "US defeat in Afghanistan").
The difficulties of the campaign in Afghanistan have long been known to the West. The Taliban say they have recaptured 40% of the territory and continue to advance. Opium production in the country increases over the years and with it crime. Kabul is less secure than before and attacks are on the agenda.
The main ally in the area was Pakistan, but after the latest US and Pakistani statements, this alliance is to be deemed to have lapsed.
The US has embarked on a new way of strengthening relations with India, in function of China, which would automatically make those with Pakistan fall apart.
The countries bordering Afghanistan are not pro-Western.
Pakistan believes that the Afghan campaign must be considered lost.
Our country must question what are the national motives and interests to continue in an Afghan campaign that has radically changed its raison d'etre and today, after the US dispute with Pakistan, poses at the highest risk the permanence of our limited military contingent in a campaign with no way out.
It takes political courage to start the military campaigns, but it serves as much clarity and political responsibility also to end them, when national interests disappear.