General Mirza Aslam Beg General Stanley McChrystal, having read The Memoirs of Winston Churchill, has opted for a new strategy for Afghanistan, named as Churchills Choice, which he defined in these words: The more an outside army sought to impose order, the more ferocious the Afghan response. Brute force of arms was not only insufficient and ineffective, but likely to foment greater antagonism. Therefore, there was the option of pulling out and working through and with the tribal system, and leaving the tribals to their bloodletting. The new strategy, therefore, was formalised during the strategic dialogue with Pakistan with high expectations that the Pakistan army after having steamrolled Taliban from North Waziristan, will also be ready to support the surge strategy against Taliban in Afghanistan. However, Chief of Army Staff General Parvez Kayani, on his return to Pakistan, has poured cold water on the incumbent US administrations desire by saying: Pakistan has no intention to launch 'steamroller operations in North Waziristan, nor it can provide any military support to the coalition forces surge inside Afghanistan. As a result, the American dream for a brick by brick demolition of the jihadi infrastructure has ultimately dashed to the ground, as much as the effort to capture Marjeh in the Helmand province and also hoisting the US flag on a mud hut in Marjeh bazaar. Now, it is expected that the surge will turn towards Kandahar, inviting a befitting response from Taliban. This encounter, certainly, will not be a stalemate as in Marjeh, but a turning point of the surge operations. In any case, there is undoubtedly no possibility of a 'quick fix military success before the US mid-term elections, nor the option of pulling out and leaving the tribals, to their bloodletting is achievable by implementing the Maldives Plan. In fact, the Maldives Plan would be a clear recipe for disaster. This option was used in 1990, after the Afghan mujahideen and the government of Pakistan together provided a 'safe exit to the Soviet troops; however, for the exit of the US/NATO forces now neither Pakistan, nor Taliban, can provide any such guarantee. On the hindsight, Obamas recent dash to Kabul to announce the premature success of the strategic dialogue was a crude attempt to fool the American public, as the 'surge strategy has failed and so has the Maldives Plan even before it could be launched. So what is the option left for the US/NATO forces? The answer is to make peace with the Taliban of Afghanistan, which is possible only if the occupation forces try to understand the genesis of Taliban of today and find a way to negotiate peace with them. The present Taliban are different from those in 1988 and 1989. They are what the CIAs website named The Long War Journal describes in detail. Added to it, is the hardcore of young Taliban fighters who were born 30 years back and have grown under the shadows of war. Their only objective in life is to win their freedom. They have enjoyed no pleasures of life - courtesy foreign invasions, by the Soviets and the Americans. They live in a state of anomie, where life and death have little meaning for them. They are a phenomenon, least understood, yet one can understand them, if there is the willingness to engage with them. But the question is, how will the US/West engage with the Taliban? Indeed, this is extremely difficult mainly because of its obsession to call Taliban as 'terrorists rather than 'freedom fighters. The US/West has to get rid of this obsession and treat them as freedom fighters who, during the last three decades, have sacrificed two generations in order to preserve their freedom, their values and traditions, which do not find harmony with the American plans and policies for Afghanistan (Mullah Umar). Nevertheless, there exists a serious trust deficit between Taliban and the US, who betrayed them in 1989, at Geneva, and again in 2001, at Bonn, by denying them power-sharing in government which they deserved as the winner and also being the majority (55 percent of the population). Similarly, the Maldives Plans that has now been hatched and is to be implemented, will be another betrayal and disastrous for peace. Pakistan and the other stakeholders in the region do not want a Talibanised Afghanistan. However, they have no right under any law to make such a demand. It is only for the people of Afghanistan to choose the form of government that best suits them. Amongst our immediate neighbours, China follows the Communist/Socialist ideology and is the most peaceful country in the world. Likewise, Iran follows the Islamic ideology and, despite such provocations from Israel and pressures from USA, has maintained its cool. Similarly, Afghanistan under the Taliban will follow the Islamic ideology, respecting the rule of law and distributive justice. In fact, the world has to remain engaged with them to ameliorate their sufferings of the last 30 years, caused by foreign aggressions. Therefore, Pakistan and the US, in particular, will have to recalibrate their positions and harmonise their interests with Afghanistan for a lasting peace in the region. As a final word, it is not President Hamid Karzai and his government that will look after the American interests when they are gone from Afghanistan. The Taliban can provide such a guarantee only if we remain engaged with them and promise to invest in rebuilding the country, which has suffered untold misery, death, destruction and deprivation at the hands of the two great powers - Russia and America. The US/West owe it to the people of Afghanistan, not in blood or flesh anymore but in kind, if they decide to save the day and abandon the Churchills Choice of leaving the tribes, to their bloodletting. The writer is former COAS, Pakistan. Email: friendsfoundation@live.co.uk