AFGHANISTAN
A Country On The Brink
Afghanistan stands on the brink of historic and important elections, scheduled
to take place tomorrow, Oct. 9. Despite this positive development, Afghanistan
today remains a country in crisis. Opium production is booming, Taliban, al
Qaeda and warlord forces rule the entire country outside of the capital city of
Kabul, and the Afghan people face daily struggles for existence. Just yesterday,
the country erupted in pockets of sporadic violence
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20041008_001824-search,00.html?collection=autowire%2F30day&vql_string=afghanistan%3Cin%3E%28article%2Dbody%29)
, "highlighting the risks posed by Taliban militants who have vowed to disrupt
the vote." In many ways, "security threats are more serious now than a year ago,
posing a continuing concern in what remains a key front in the U.S.-declared war
on terrorism." James Dobbins, President Bush's former envoy to Afghanistan, says
while the Afghan elections "are a relative bright spot," they have to be
understood in a picture that has some very serious dark sides: "The security
situation is not getting better. And I don't know if it can be reversed." (For
more on Afghanistan, a country in crisis, see this American Progress
backgrounder (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=202861)
.)
TALIBAN THREAT: Two weeks ago, President Bush announced, "[The] Taliban no
longer is in existence." He was egregiously mistaken. The Taliban may not be in
power in Kabul, but they have been making a steady comeback throughout the
countryside. The Afghan death toll attributed to the Taliban rose by 45 percent
(http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/24/international/asia/24stan.html?ex=1096171200&en=2018338dbf7f7210&ei=5070&pos=&pagewanted=print&position=)
this year, and more than 40 election workers have been killed or wounded by the
Taliban in the past four months. Moreover, as a new paper commissioned by the
Center for American Progress, " Security in Afghanistan: The Continuing
Challenge (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=208654) ,"
warns, the Taliban "continue to enjoy substantial support in the provinces and
tribal areas along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, regardless of enhanced
efforts in 2004 by the Pakistani government to cooperate with the United States
in the counter-terror fight."
AL QAEDA THREAT: Senior members of al Qaeda, including Osama bin Laden and his
top deputy, remain at large. Last month, Maj. Gen. Eric Olson stated, "[t]here
are senior leaders of al [Qaeda] that are working through operatives in
Afghanistan (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5968186/) ...They are involved in
planning and in some cases directing attacks inside of Afghanistan."
WARLORD THREAT: Much of the country remains in the firm grasp of warlords,
creating a culture of violence and instability. In fact, Karzai has called
private militias the top threat
(http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040712/ZNYT03/407120387)
facing Afghanistan. The administration's Afghanistan strategy may be to blame:
"Many experts believe that a critical turning point came for the United States
in 2002, when American officials discouraged proposals for international
peacekeeping forces
(http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usafghan8oct08,1,478648.story)
. Experts said the decision left militia commanders in a strong position. Money
and arms the U.S. commanders gave the warlords for their help against the
Taliban enabled the fighting groups to gain even greater independence from the
new government."
DRUG THREAT: Economically, Afghans "are doing twice as well as they were when
the U.S. invasion took place." Most of the economic growth, however, is thanks
to the opium industry
(http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2004/09/18/crackdown_on_afghanistans_cash_crop_looms?mode=PF)
, which accounts for 75 percent of the world's supply and is set to break all
records (http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=385&sid=245638) this year.
"Robert B. Charles, assistant U.S. secretary of State for international
narcotics and law enforcement, recently called the drug threat 'a dark shadow'
over the country." Over the past two years, "drugs poured $4.8 billion into the
Afghan economy
(http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usafghan8oct08,1,478648.story)
, 70% more than the $2.8 billion from foreign aid." And that's money in the
pockets of terrorists: the billion-dollar industry helps finance terrorism, with
funds empowering al Qaeda
(http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/printout/0,13675,501040809-674806,00.html)
and the Taliban as well as Afghan warlords and militias. Furthermore, as a new
paper commissioned by the Center, " Road to Ruin: Afghanistan's Booming Opium
Industry (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=208654) ,"
warns, "the drug industry is in danger of becoming further militarized and
integrated with the political system."
PLIGHT OF THE PEOPLE: Afghans remains a people in crisis. The Los Angeles Times
(http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usafghan8oct08,1,478648.story)
reports this morning, "Afghan women still suffer the highest rate of
pregnancy-related deaths in the world, according to the World Bank. Less than
20% of Afghans have access to safe drinking water, only 6% have electricity, and
half suffer from chronic malnutrition."
IGNORED FOR IRAQ: The United States diverted attention, time and money away from
Afghanistan to Iraq. "The 18,000 troops of the U.S. contingent in Afghanistan
are far fewer than the 138,000 in Iraq
(http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usafghan8oct08,1,7654384,print.story)
." The administration is spending $2.2 billion on reconstruction in Afghanistan
this year, an amount "dwarfed by the $18.4 billion appropriated for the
reconstruction of Iraq, a country with roughly as many people." |
