US' Blackwater Mercenaries 'Will Bring Hatred, Not Peace to Afghanistan'

President Trump has been advised to turn to private military contractors and hire a mercenary army to "fix" Afghanistan, where it has been at war since 2001. Retired Afghan General Atiqullah Amarhel told Sputnik that it will only breed hatred and won't bring any peace to his country.

The proposal was offered by Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, and Jared Kushner, his senior adviser and son-in-law. Local media reports say that Erik D. Prince, a founder of the private military company Blackwater Worldwide, and Stephen A. Feinberg, a billionaire financier who owns the giant military contractor DynCorp International, were quick to jump on the idea and each see a role for themselves in this future.

Blackwater, founded by Prince, is a private military company that gained notoriety in Iraq following the US invasion in 2003. During the Iraq War, Blackwater was involved in numerous troubling incidents. The most infamous was the Nisour Square massacre, when contractors opened fire on a crowd of civilians in Baghdad, killing 17; it led to court cases that put four of the contractors in prison.

An Afghan military analyst, retired General Atiqullah Amarhel, told Sputnik that the suggested outsourcing won't bring any stability and peace to his home country; Afghans nourish only hatred towards the US mercenaries.

"Those who can't end a war with success, either lose it or get deadlocked. The Americans choose to persist and take on a risky venture. They think that with their venture and aggressive actions they can frighten the Afghan people. But it is a very bad idea," Atiqullah Amarhel told Sputnik.

He further explained that for the Afghan people, Blackwater is one of the most cruelest companies, hence they feel only hatred towards it. They have not only been killing unarmed innocent civilians, but have maintained special secret jails where they tortured people in the most perverted forms.

"However the Americans have gained nothing. The thing is that each country has its own culture and mode of life which should be understood first. Luckily or unluckily, but the Afghan people have such a culture, as a counterstrategy to any form of aggression. To defend against an aggressor and outside power is a duty and an honor for any Afghan," the retired general said.

If from the very start of the military conflict the Americans did not resort to the services of this very company, he said, treated with respect the culture and traditions of the Afghan society and did not misuse their military presence in the country, the war would not go on for so long. Moreover, the native people at that moment were abused by the Taliban, who at the time gained power in Afghanistan and tortured the native people.

"Now the Americans want to make the very same mistake. But this strategy won't bring any stability and peace to Afghanistan. It will only result in the colossal destruction of not only Afghanistan, but the region as a whole," Atiqullah Amarhel said.

The Americans want to rule Afghanistan by force, which is practically impossible. It is a wrong route, unlikely to bring any desired result. They need to develop another strategy, mild and not aggressive, which will benefit the Afghan people and will be aimed at rapprochement with the country's residents, the retired general concluded.