Afghanistan revisited

Karzai Urges Shift in Strategy Afghan Doubts Military Focus By N.C. Aizenman Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, September 21, 2005; Page A14 KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 20 -- President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday questioned the need for further international military operations within Afghanistan, while the top U.S. military commander here predicted more fighting in the weeks ahead as Taliban guerrillas continue to mount attacks and U.S.-led forces respond. Karzai, speaking at a news conference two days after landmark parliamentary elections were held with minimal disruption, called instead for a "stronger political approach," focused on shutting down guerrilla training camps and financial support outside the country.

This is exactly what I am arguing for with respect to Afghanistan. While the Bush administration is throwing out feelers on having our troops withdraw from Afghanistan, it forgets that military operations against insurgents and terrorists are just the initial phase of rebuilding a country. Karzai in the piece above spells this out clearly. It is true that we have defeated the Taliban guerrilla, not completely but it has been weakened substantially. Now, we must move to consolidate the gains we have made in the country. Now is the time for us to provide better security for the Afghan people, to allow the government to develop the country's economy. At the same time, we can't lower our guard but remember that as long as the Taliban survives it poses a threat to Afghanistan. This fact is irrefutable given the fact that in recent months violence has been increasing in the country and that the U.S. has suffered more deaths than in any other month since we invaded the country to remove the Taliban from power and to capture Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda organization (this last thing we have yet to do even though our president told us that "whether we brought our enemies to justice or justice to our enemies, justice would be done!). Col Pat Lang has an interesting take on Karzai's comments, though I disagree with his conclusion that we need to withdraw from Afghanistan. He basically argues that Karzai is telling us in no uncertain terms that Afghanistan is as it is and that we should abandon our dreams of a democratic progressive Afghanistan in a dust bin to be forgotten. There is some merit to what Col. Lang says. He is correct for example in saying that democracy cannot be imposed on anyone. I agree with him that that is one of the most troubling aspects of our current campaign to turn despotic regimes into democratic ones. All we can do, especially in those countries we have invaded and occupied, is to provide the country with enough security to allow its economy to grow and a politica process to develop. We can counsel the leadership and ensure that the process is transparent but ultimately the people of the country must decide their fate. We have given Afghanistan and Iraq that chance, but have failed to provide them with the security necessary to jumpstart their economies or allow the political process to move forward. Karzai himself makes this clear when he states in the story above "'Our country needs stability,' Karzai said, adding that 'a system of participation' is important to improve national life. 'Certain aspirations for us at this moment may sound like too much of a luxury. So I'm very happy with what we have.'" Let's hope someone in the administration is listening.