The United States assisted in ousting Qaddafi leaving the weapon rich nation a complete quagmire–just last week a secret chemical weapon storage facility was located. U.S. troop withdrawals in Iraq leave the nation prone to inevitable collapse. And now the Turks, along with a handful of questionable nation states, are meddling in Afghanistan in preparation of America’s longest war’s end.
Turkey has been nothing but a thorn in U.S. relations throughout the Middle East in recent years. “The governments of Turkey and Iraq have an agreement that allows the Turkish military to make ‘hot-pursuit’ operations into Iraq.” This statement is in reference to Turkish operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Many Americans fail to realize how important the PKK and Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) have been for the United States throughout the duration of military operations in Iraq. But the very critical assets we have in Iraq now face military attacks by Turkey. What will happen to the thousands of displaced persons in Camp Ashraf?
Turkey is not only attempting to shape Iraq, they are now attempting to shape Afghanistan upon our exit–this initiative is known as the “Security and Cooperation in the Heart of Asia.” Interestingly enough, they are bringing in some key players who do not align well with U.S. interests.
Russia, China, Pakistan, and even Iran will be attempting to shape Afghanistan along with Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan through this Turkish led initiative. On the surface, these nations are in alignment with one another. Some believe Turkey is responsible for this situation–do not allow their tactical gusto blind the strategic initiative.
The United States has drafted catch phrases such as “Soft” and “Smart Power” along with “Winning Hearts and Minds.” Needless to say, while these concepts are brilliant, we have failed in executing them appropriately due to incredibly ignorant Foreign Policies. China’s Soft Power initiatives on the other hand have made an incredible global impact.
China has leveraged opportunities among numerous nation states–globally. These opportunities have placed China in a very unique global position to enhance its strategic game plan of world dominance. Arguably, many can claim that China has surpassed the United States in its competitive Foreign Policy.
With ten plus years of U.S. “Hard Power” in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout the Horn of Africa and elsewhere, China has built incredible relations with numerous nation states through its incorporation of “Soft Power.” Those nation states are now confident to take on initiatives they likely would have never considered without China’s support. Look what Turkey is doing in Iraq and Afghanistan today.
There is a time for “Hard Power” and a time for “Soft Power.” Obviously, the United States has failed in executing anything close to what could be known as “Smart Power”–an oxymoronic phrase. While our economy has been crushed, lives of many patriotic heroes have been perished. We have numerous reasons as to why we initiated our “Hard Power” adventures. We have no reason allowing nation states such as China to become the real winners in the lands which we paid the ultimate price through their “Soft Power” tactics.
Kerry Patton is a Senior Analyst for WIKISTRAT. He has worked in South America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, focusing on intelligence and security interviewing current and former terrorists, including members of the Taliban. He is the author of “Sociocultural Intelligence: The New Discipline of Intelligence Studies” and the children’s book “American Patriotism.” You can follow him on Facebook.
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