Iftekhar A. Khan Australian Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, said his country intended to deploy 1100 more troops in Afghanistan to train Afghan army and security forces to quell increasing Taliban resistance. He said Australian troops' deployment is part of US-led efforts to bolster coalition forces in the troubled country. Smith told Sky News: "We will expect that (deployment) in the near future. It's now a matter for us to carefully work through what we regard as being in Australia's national interest." NATO has agreed to send 5000 troops to Afghanistan while US plans to send 21000 more soldiers and marines, including 4000 special trainers to buttress its 38000 troops. Why so many civilised (pardon me) Christian countries, periling their economies, have pooled in their financial and military resources to subdue the poorest Muslim country in the world. What is their collective interest? If the ploy behind the grand military build-up is not avarice and exploitation, what else is it? General Smedley Butler (1888-1940) of US Marines whom General McArthur described as "one of the really great generals in the American history," explained it. In his book War as a Racket he wrote: "There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its 'finger men' to point out enemies, its 'muscle men' to destroy enemies, its 'brain men' to plan war preparations and a 'big boss' Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism (military-industrial-complex)" to ultimately benefit. Butler's forces are in place. 'finger men' have identified enemies - Afghans and Taliban, 'brain men' have planned the war, and 'muscle men' are converging in the Afghanistan theatre as a final assault on it to benefit the 'big boss'. Posthumous thanks, Butler. After troops' escalation, total number of foreign forces in Afghanistan would surge to almost 90,000 yet 60,000 less than what the Russians had in their ten years war. Besides, Anglo-American-led troops have fought the Taliban only for seven years compared with Russia's ten years. Hypothetically, more troops and more years would be required to seal the fate of any side, more likely of the invaders. Foreign forces cannot afford spilling blood of their troops for fear of resentment at home while the Afghans, the Taliban, would return in waves to free their homeland, which is part of their time-honoured history of hundreds of years. While preparations enter the final phase of push until victory, many doubt President Obama's perception that Taliban in FATA intend to launch the next terror attack in Europe or US. This is indeed most farfetched. Behind the farce is the formidable propaganda machine abetted by the controlled media, particularly in US and generally in UK. Whatever US establishment fabricates, UK dutifully apes it. Coming of Brown in UK and Obama in US has not seen any modicum of shift from the previous policy, saving that Brown is not as articulate in feeding disinformation as grandiloquent Blair was, and expressions on his rotund face sometime belie his inner feelings. Rest is fine. However, large populations in Muslim countries understand that there is no such thing as War On Terror and extremism' led by UK and US in Afghanistan; it is a war meant to plunder resources. Disinformation by intelligence networks disseminated to public and issuing fake terror alerts to create hype and to manipulate public opinion is part of the stratagem. The aim is to disarm the citizenry. Barren Afghanistan, according to US Geological Survey (USGS), has large deposits of copper, iron, gold, oil, and gas, which remain untapped. A massive copper deposit lies 20 miles east of Kabul. Besides, control over the country offers the prospect of pipeline route from CAS to FATA, Balochistan (Gwadar). But the problem is how to control the hostile Afghan population? Is genocide the answer? No. Instead of annihilating large population, fortune hunters can negotiate with it. Negotiations not hubris can pave the way to the mineral riches by making Afghans and other stakeholders along the route partners. Locals lack technology and skill but let's remember they are owners of the land and its resources. A negotiated arrangement, therefore, is the only option available in which both sides win. Torture and killing will never work. Large majorities round the world are convinced that Taliban, so-called Al-Qaeda, and Muslims had no role in the 9/11 attacks on the Towers and the Pentagon. How then is the war in Afghanistan a just war? Dilemma the Muslim countries face is their lack of determination and effective media to counter the propaganda blitz by the Western print and TV media. None of our TV channels has so far invited a meaningful debate to establish the veracity of 9/11. Why? After all, charade of war built round 9/11 has caused us untold miseries and destabilised the whole region. Yet we are being deluded to believe that US war is our war. Not only that, Pakistanis also know that Anglo-American establishment surreptitiously supported by India is fomenting uprising in resource-rich Balochistan. No wonder then why the nation is not so much averse to Taliban. People generally have no sympathy with them but they support part of their agenda, which is to throw the foreign troops and the military trainers out of the country. The writer is a freelance columnist. E-mail: pinecity@gmail.com