ACT NOW! - SUPPORT AFGHANISTAN'S RECONSTRUCTION

Has Afghanistan been forgotten? The mass media isn't spending much time reporting on the situation there. We can't forget Afghanistan. There's too much at stake there. It was less than two years ago that Afghanistan was one of the world's major terrorism hubs--home to terror-master Osama Bin Laden himself. Afghanistan's strategic position cannot be underestimated. It has borders with the regional/world powers of Iran, Pakistan, and China, as well as with the fledgling republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Establishing a foothold of stable democracy in this hot spot would be a coup de grace for the civilized world.

So what's happening in Afghanistan vis-à-vis the war on terror and the reconstruction of that war-ravaged land? Well, it depends whom you ask. According to the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC), "an independent non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the transfer of former military resources and assets to alternative civilian purposes:"

The brazen suicide bomb attack on 7 June 2003 in Kabul that killed four German ISAF soldiers and at least one Afghan civilian illustrated the tenuous nature of the security situation in Afghanistan. More than 19 months following the fall of the Taliban, the goals of security and stability remain as elusive as ever. The stark reality of the situation is that much of Afghanistan remains embroiled in a war in which spoiler groups such as the Taliban are displaying more organization and confidence with each passing day. The frustration of the Afghan people, most of which have yet to see a peace dividend after 23 arduous years of war, is palpable. With the reconstruction agenda faltering, donor fatigue setting in, and the security situation unraveling, the prospect of the collapse of the Bonn process appears very real. To avert this outcome, new approaches to the security situation are urgently required.

...expansion of donor support for Afghanistan is needed. Current levels of international support are simply not commensurate to the scale of the reconstruction and security challenges that exist. Accordingly, It is critical that donors, most notably the United States and the European Union, significantly augment their political, military and economic support to Afghanistan.

On a more positive yet cautious note, CARE, whose "...mission is to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world," states:

Afghanistan has reached a crossroads, and the choice is clear and stark: Stay on the path of peace and progress or return to the all-too-familiar terrain of civil war and poverty.

Much has been accomplished since the fall of the Taliban. Reconstruction has begun in earnest. In places like Kabul, and peaceful areas in the North, Afghan businesses and markets are thriving. Women are walking the streets, increasingly confident that they can leave their heavy cloth bhurkas at home.

Two million refugees have returned since January 2002 to rebuild their lives. After early delays, the road system is finally being repaired. But perhaps the best news of all is what has not happened. There has been no coup, no governmental pogroms. The international community is still here, supporting both security and the reconstruction effort. Slowly but steadily in many parts of Afghanistan, nights without gunshots and rocket explosions are becoming "normal."

And yet much work remains. On Afghanistan's two most critical issues, security and reconstruction, there are still huge challenges.

And on an even more positive note, the U.S. Department of State's Office for Afghanistan Reconstruction claims:

The Bonn Accord of 2001, agreed to by a traditional Afghan institution known as a Loya Jirga, laid out an Afghan-driven road map for the drafting of a new constitution and the holding of elections in June 2004. While much work remains to realize these goals, significant inroads have taken place. With a promise for a better future, over 2.5 million Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons have returned to their homes since 2001. Under the leadership of President Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan has formed a stable, ethnically balanced government that is working to provide basic services to the Afghan people and interacts constructively with the international community. Another significant step the Afghan government has taken is the introduction of a new currency designed to facilitate and improve financial transactions.

Development is occurring throughout the country as health clinics are built and roads are repaired. Women have returned to public life. Three million boys and girls have enrolled in newly opened schools. The country’s security, too, is steadier than it has been in decades, thanks in particular to U.S. and coalition troops and increasingly, the presence of U.S.-led Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the countryside. Over time the newly created Afghan National Army will assume responsibility for maintaining stability, and the Afghan Government has made a firm commitment to a program of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration. As a result of these historic achievements and continuing progress, Afghans can look forward to a more prosperous and secure future.

The United States and its international partners remain committed to helping Afghans realize their vision for a country that is stable, democratic, and economically successful, and to an Afghan government committed to the protection of women’s rights, human rights, and religious tolerance. So far, Afghanistan has risen to successfully face these challenges, and as a result the world is witnessing the beginnings of a constitutional democratic government, the revival of an entrepreneurial economy, the reemergence of a rich and vital Afghan culture, and the recovery of hope in a people traumatized by decades of war.

Back to the negative, if you believe Human Rights Watch, then Afghanistan is just one big disaster:

When the Taliban were forced from power in Afghanistan in late 2001, the United States and its coalition partners opted for a strategy of nation-building lite, entrusting security to militia leaders and warlords with terrible human rights records. America transported some warlords back to their former fiefdoms and rearmed and financed them or simply stood by while warlords seized control of army, police and intelligence facilities.

Almost everywhere in Afghanistan, local populations complained about the strategy, and asked for international peacekeepers to be deployed outside of Kabul. The United States refused.

Human Rights Watch recently completed a research mission in southeastern Afghanistan. Amazingly, we found that many ordinary Afghans are less secure than they were a year ago. In addition to resurgent Taliban activity, we found major problems with Afghanistan's police, army and intelligence forces the same people the United States put in place after defeating the Taliban.

In many areas, police officers are turning into criminals at night raiding homes, stealing valuables and even raping young women and girls. Local warlords are fighting each other in several provinces. In the south of the country, aid programs and demining projects have been stopped because of attacks by Taliban remnants, some of whom secretly enjoy the support of local warlords.

While I understand that much progress has been made in Afghanistan, I feel that the situation there has been "put on the back burner," to some extent. I wouldn't go as far as some crazies, like Shashi Tharoor, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, who said:

The great challenge before us today is how to secure the commitment of a divided world community to our efforts, at a time when Iraq has proved to be a weapon of mass distraction.

But I do agree with the Christian Science Monitor that much more needs to be done in Afghanistan:

The world can't afford to withhold appropriate assistance. To do so would abandon Afghanistan to chaos, leaving the country wide open for the Taliban and Osama bin Laden to move back in and resume the export of terror.

But aid will be meaningless unless there is security in the provinces for aid and construction workers on projects that benefit local people.

The US has been oddly hesitant to expand the international security force outside the capital. The administration was originally reluctant to do too much nation-building in Afghanistan. The US wants to have a free hand and avoid the expense involved in larger deployments. Even if European or other troops are involved, the US still must provide logistical support.

The world seems to want the U.S. to do all its dirty work (see "Hollow Decisions from the Hollow Arab League" and "BBC: U.S. damned if it does and damned if it does not" articles). This is a great burden for one nation alone--even if it is "the world's only superpower." Its easy to talk about "U.S. Power and Arrogance" when your kids aren't the ones being killed, and your country isn't "the world's largest supplier of foreign aid." Arm-chair quarter-backing is easy. Spending other people's money is easy.

Thankfully, the U.S. is getting support in the rebuilding of Afghanistan. NATO just assumed command of security there. Germany and the Netherlands had jointly held control since February.

Sometimes people get too impatient and too critical of difficult situations (like Iraq). The mess that is Afghanistan wasn't made overnight. The country has had a long and troubled history, with many conquerors trampling over her soil, the horrible Soviet invasion, and the very recent atrocities of the Taliban. These wounds will not heal easily, and we must do everything we can to bring democracy and stability to Afghanistan.

Click here to support security and reconstruction in Afghanistan.