Afghanistan, the forgotten project

Though the international community is working hard to improve the quality of the police force, their current status remains less than exemplary.  The average salary of trained police is $24 a month with their bosses making about twice as much.^[lxi]  Low payment allows them to be more vulnerable to corruption and bribery.  Without an effective security network in place, violence can continue without signs of improvement.  Also, some policemen have resorted to a type of vigilante justice, using their weapons to enforce their own interpretation of the law without any accountability.

These obstacles to a successful Afghanistan are extremely serious and need to be dealt with immediately.  However, their presence does not mean that Afghanistan is or will be a failure.  Afghans have had to deal with war on a daily basis for the last thirty years.  The Soviets and the Taliban have impeded the progress of the nation.  Much of the nation is still unchanged technologically from hundreds of years ago.  Instant success is impossible to achieve.  Nonetheless, the will to achieve is there.  The Afghans undoubtedly want a brighter and more stable future for their children.  For that to happen, concrete changes must be made.

Recommendations

In order for Afghanistan to become a strong and vibrant country, the effort to rebuild the country must not be ignored or done haphazardly.  The process is far from over and there must be a steadfast determination that accompanies the reconstruction.  The insurgents’ strategy is to frustrate and block all efforts to rebuild the country so that one day patience will run out and theU.S.and its allies will abandon Afghanistan.  Nevertheless, all of the persistence in the world will not do much good if the policies that are being implemented are ineffective.

Successful strategies must be carried out, even if they are unpopular or might not achieve overnight success.  It is better to prevent a disaster from happening by doing more now than cleaning it up later and having to deal with the fallout, which is what needs to be done with the security situation.  Most of the problems Afghanistan faces today are related to the lack of security.  Without the proper manpower, insurgents and al Qaeda are able to launch attacks and threaten the local population with impunity.  The right, but highly unpopular choice is to increase the manpower and deploy them in areas and in roles where they are used the best.   Anti-war defeatists will surely campaign against it, but President Bush and other world leaders should realize that by taking risks now, it could end up saving a whole lot of trouble in the future.

Just improving security will not cure all of the problems.  Specific issues must be dealt with by crafted and precise solutions.  Viable economic alternatives should be offered to poppy farmers which could jumpstart potential legal economies forAfghanistan, if accepted.  Many of these growers have no other source of income; if there is another crop or business that is going to sustain them, then they will be more willing to give up their poppy fields.

On the relations front, Kabul must improve and solidify their relationships with key countries, including Pakistan, the U.S. and Turkey.  Meanwhile, the U.S. should continue to cultivate its image with the Afghans as another defense against the insurgents.  They must show the citizenry that their presence is to assist and rebuild the country, not to rule or change their culture.  Every misstep will be magnified by extremists as proof of the supposed malicious intent of the U.S. Washington must counter that with detailed and sincere responses, such as personal apologies to family members of accidental victims and investigations of the incident.