Top American military commanders have been expressing cautions against the Obama Administration’s consideration of ‘zero option’—possibility of full withdrawal of all troops from Afghanistan. In an interview, Gen. Joseph Dunford says it is not an option, but a possible outcome if Washington and Kabul fail to reach an agreement on a post-2014 U.S. military presence. "Anyone who reinforces this idea of December 2014 as being Y2K or a cliff that the Afghan people are going to fall off is actually being unhelpful. An option is something you plan against. And we are not planning against the zero option. The General further said that the prospect of a complete American withdrawal was damaging morale in Afghanistan .

According to a report by the NY Times, President Obama is considering a faster withdrawal plan of all American troops from Afghanistan. The report says that following a tense conversation between Presidents Obama and Karzai in a videoconference on June 26, the White House is increasingly considering the ‘zero option’ as an alternative, withdrawing all troops after 2014.

The former commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, retired Gen. John Allen also cautioned against leaving no U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014. Speaking Friday at the Aspen Security Forum, Allen said that although the Afghan army has made great gains, Afghan leaders realize its forces are not fully trained and need a U.S. presence beyond next year.

"I've got a good bit of experience with senior Afghan leaders, and I can tell you almost to a person, they desperately want our presence after this war," he said. "They don't want us in large numbers, but they want us there in enough numbers to help to continue to develop the ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces)."

Though President Karzai has been causing ups and down in relations with the US with his inconsistency and lack of a clear policy, the spat on Taliban’s political office in Qatar was a final blow. He suspended talks on the bilateral security agreement about the number and conditions for the US troops to remain beyond 2014. Once considered the worst-case scenario, now Washington is serious about full withdrawal of all troops—a sure recipe of disaster and our downward spiral and with eventual chaos and crisis that can lead to civil war.

Taliban have also temporarily closed their office in Doha, reacting on the objection of the Karzai Administration about their use of symbols and flag from the former Taliban rule. After these objections, the flag of the ‘Islamic Emirate’ was removed and their office nametag removed. Taliban say the objections are “absurd as everything about the office had been agreed upon during months-long discussions with all sides involved”.

While the Karzai Administration made a huge fuss out of it, the parliament and public at large has been kept in dark about the entire process. The engineered Jirga resolution has been the only excuse for a solo drive on a one-way street.

The Government’s incapacity and lack of a coherent counterinsurgency and anti-terrorism policy is taking us to an unknown direction of uncertainty among masses. Amid all this uncertain situation due to the incapacity of our leadership, the only hope remains with a smooth transfer of power in Kabul next year through a free, fair and transparent elections that should bring a new leadership with popular support and strong will to lead us out of the uncertainty whether it’s through talks with Taliban or a tough fight.

The worsening ties with the US could actually force them to go for the ‘zero option’, surely followed by chaos and crisis in Afghanistan, for which, President Karzai will have the sole responsibility. The opposition political parties have called on the Government to resolve the differences and normalize relations otherwise all out responsibility of crisis would go on President Karzai.

The issue on number and status of the US military bases after withdrawal should be left to the next Government and parliament to be elected in 2014. A Government in its last year with increasing unpopularity and failed strategy of talks with Taliban has not the credibility and popular legitimacy to decide on the matter. Therefore the issue should be left for the next government.

Full American withdrawal will mean instability and chaos. It will not very long for the Government to collapse and National Security Forces to scatter along factional and ethnic lines. Who will meet their financial needs?

Actually all of the crisis mongering is part of a well-thought scheme to create a situation of crisis and possibly impose the state of emergency, after which the President can stick to power for few more years and we will not see any elections. UN officials have reportedly said polling will most likely not be possible until the summer. The international community must not let this happen; otherwise Afghanistan will go into another era of crisis.