US Afghan strategy will fail say Ex-Cmdr

[ Editor’s Note: Khadir Mohmand was a Mujahideen commander once upon a time, until the yellow brick road of life brought him to the US where he became a successful businessman and has supported his people every since from Kalamazoo, MI.  We should all be so lucky to have someone this passionate and steadfast to support our cause… Jim W. Dean ]

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September 5, 2017

To the Honorable James Mattis

U.S. Secretary of Defense

1000 Defense Pentagon

Washington, DC 20301-1000

RE: The United States’ New Strategy of Escalating the Killing of the Afghan/Pashtun Majority in Afghanistan Will Not Work. This Longest War For Control of the REEs Must End.

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Dear Secretary Mattis:

War crimes are being committed against Afghan/Pashtun villagers by the United States. Just last week Afghan/Pashtun villagers were killed in Pashtun areas throughout Afghanistan especially in Helmand Province, Logar, Herat, Kunduz and Kunar Province. History has shown that wars against Afghan/Pashtun cannot be won. Presently, I believe the United States’ troops, its mercenaries/private contractors, and the Afghan administration’s puppet forces cannot beat the resisting Pashtun villagers/freedom fighters on the ground. I believe it is cowardice to use more B-52 bombers, drones and other sophisticated weapons and aircraft to kill Afghan/Pashtun villagers, who are the native majority population. I am sorry to say if we continue with this stupid strategy of fighting the Afghans/Pashtun, our country will end up like the former Soviet Union, which collapsed after they lost in Afghanistan. If we continue with the war strategy in Afghanistan only China and Russia will be the winners.

I believe the new U.S. Trump strategy in Afghanistan is genocide- the intentional killing of the Afghan/Pashtun villagers, who are the only roadblock to the Trump administration’s exploitation of the Rare Earth Elements (REEs), is wrong and unlawful. At one of his recent media events, Trump himself boldly stated that he wanted the United States to “exploit” the REEs. His friends, Michael N. Silver of American Elements, a company that specializes in mining REEs and his adviser, billionaire friend, Stephen A. Feinberg of Dyncorp will benefit from this exploitation. The vast untapped deposits of REEs are located on the Afghan/Pashtun villagers’ land especially in Helmand Province and other Pashtun areas throughout Afghanistan. The Afghan/Pashtun villagers are fighting to defend their land that is being taken from them for control over the REEs. It is really not about terrorism. It is really about exploiting the Afghan’s REEs! I believe the Afghan Villagers are not terrorizing the United States, but the United States is terrorizing the Afghan villagers.

The United States, under the command of Trump and ultimately under your command and the command on the ground of General Nicholson, is cowardly attacking the Afghan/Pashtun villagers using phosphorus and other chemical bombs against them. On August 28, 2017, thirty five (35) Afghan villagers, many women and children, were killed in Shindand District in Herat Province. This killing of Afghan villagers/civilians is happening throughout Afghanistan every day-mostly unreported by the media. It is escalating under Trump’s new strategy of genocide of the Afghan /Pashtun villagers, who are the road block to his exploitation of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth.

The native majority, the Pashtun villagers, are not the enemy of the United States. I believe that the best path for the United States is to stop the war against the Pashtun villagers and talk directly with them to reach peace. The United States needs to be united with the Afghan/Pashtun villagers, the majority, in order to keep Russia and China from becoming the new superpowers. China’s and Russia’s power is evidenced in the recent BRICS Summit. China and Russia benefit from the United States continuing its war strategy in Afghanistan in its longest war. Their power and influence in the world have grown. Whereas, the United States continues to spend trillions and cause the loss of life in a war it cannot win. Our stature in the world has decreased because of this war.

I fought against the Soviet Union and the Afghan communists in Afghanistan in the 1980s (Please see my attached biography and photos). I hate war. It takes more courage to admit that a war cannot be won and change the strategy to a peace strategy than cowardly escalate the bombardment of Afghan /Pashtun villagers in a 16 year long war. You are a soldier, a general, who understands what war is and its destructiveness. I expect more from you, as Secretary of Defense.

Please change the strategy now. Stop the genocide of the Pashtun villagers in Afghanistan. Stop the war.

Sincerely,

Kadir A. Mohmand

6147 Old Log Trail

Kalamazoo, MI 49009

(269) 353-7044

Kadir A. Mohmand

Abdul Kadir Mohmand was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. He currently resides at Kalamazoo, Michigan. He graduated from Kabul High School. On an UNESCO scholarship, Mr. Mohmand studied at Sofia University, Bulgaria from 1976 until 1978 when his studies were interrupted by the Communist seizure of power in Afghanistan. The new Afghan Communist government ordered the Bulgarian government to return him to Afghanistan because he was anti-communist. Mr. Mohmand requested political asylum. With the help of the United Nations and the U.S. Embassy, he arrived to Italy and then the United States in 1979.

Mr. Mohmand returned to his studies and earned his B.S. in 1983 from Western Michigan University. He found employment in various positions in the engineering business. For many years, he worked for BFI and was country operations manager for BFI Italia. Currently, Mr. Mohmand owns a shopping center and develops commercial properties.

During the 1980s, Mr. Mohmand was the Representative of the Afghan Mujahideen for North America. During the 1980s, Mr. Mohmand returned to Afghanistan to fight as a freedom fighter against the Soviets and Afghan communists. Through an arrangement with Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Mr. Mohmand would bring back wounded Afghan children and Mujahideen for medical treatment at Borgess and recuperation in his home in Kalamazoo. He formed and was president of a nonprofit, Aid for Afghanistan.

In the 1980s, Mr. Mohmand also worked with the Committee for a Free Afghanistan in Washington D.C to bring wounded Afghans to the United States for medical treatment.

For the past four decades Mr. Mohmand has dedicated his life to working to achieve true peace and stability in Afghanistan.

A few years ago, Mr. Mohmand organized educated Afghans intellectuals across the world who drafted a comprehensive plan for peace. Presently, he has united many different Afghan peace organizations under one umbrella. The goal of this network is to unite Afghans to bring true peace in and the independence of Afghanistan. This network wants to be the bridge between the Afghan freedom fighters and the silent Afghan majority, and the Western World in any peace negotiations.

Mr. Mohmand wants true peace and stability in Afghanistan. As a veteran of war, Mr. Mohmand hates war.