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Round The World
Afghan Campaign
NATIONS UNDER SERIOUS STRAIN
By Monish Tourangbam,
Research Scholar, School of International Studies, JNU
New Delhi, November 16, 2009
A violent Taliban attack on a guesthouse in Kabul housing
UN staffers has forced the international organization to
relocate about half of its foreign staff into more secure
compounds, some even leaving the country temporarily. The
developments have come at a time when the UN had lately
decided to withdraw its international staff from northwestern
Pakistan. These moves are a result of the string of deadly
attacks carried out by insurgents in a deliberate effort to
undermine and frustrate the presence of international support
for the fight against terrorism.
The UN decision to reduce its strength in Afghanistan is yet
another sign of the insecurity and helplessness being
inflicted by the insurgents. Unfortunately, this might serve
as a morale booster for the Taliban who are out to hamper
international efforts to bring stability and order in the
region. Time and again the Taliban has demonstrated its
capability to target some of the most fortified places in the
heart of the capital Kabul.
Amidst the fragile state of democracy in Afghanistan, the
nature in which Hamid Karzai was re-elected did not improve
matters. The withdrawal of the running competitor Abdullah
Abdullah is not a sign of conciliation but one of further
widening the gap among the pre-eminent multifaceted divisions
of the Afghan society. By doing so, Abdullah still retains the
confidence of a large group of Afghans who have lost faith in
the governance of the incumbent president. Particularly, the
Tajik people of northern Afghanistan, who overwhelmingly voted
for Abdullah in the first round of voting, will find it hard
to swallow the result. As the winner of an election believed
to be highly marred by fraud, President Karzai needs to
convince and satisfy a large chunk of the population.
Corruption is rampant and President Karzai’s government
promises to curb it as soon as possible. Yet there is hardly
any sign of recovery. America expects the current Afghan
administration to do its best in fighting corruption and bring
about an inclusive government. The international pressure
faced by his government is ever-mounting. It now lies on how
President Karzai works to solve these fears and insecurity to
establish a meaningful democracy in Afghanistan.
But the prospects in the near future do seem rather bleak. For
a country that is plagued with drug money, reform is easier
said than done. The surplus and illegal drug money feeds the
insurgency and induces corruption in the society. Last year
Transparency International ranked Afghanistan 176th out of 180
countries on its corruption perceptions index, a poll that
assesses the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist
among public officials and politicians. Only Haiti, Iraq,
Myanmar and Somalia were worse.
Growing insurgency is one of the heinous factors further
destabilizing the delicate state of “disposable democracy” in
Afghanistan. Deadly attacks by a resurgent Taliban are a big
blow to the security of the fragile state apparatus, hindering
the process of re-construction and rehabilitation in
Afghanistan.
The U.N Special Representative in Kabul, Kai Eide has given a
clear message to the Afghan government to exercise a speedy
and effective process to bring reforms to wipe out corruption.
He denounced the influence of “power-brokers and warlords” in
Afghan politics and wanted the new government to be composed
of competent and reform-oriented personalities. At this
juncture, Afghanistan needs a bold Karzai who can forego his
ego and conduct a deep introspection of his years in power.
But the government rather chooses to accuse the UN envoy of
crossing his limits and interfering in the affairs of the new
government formation.
Frustrated with the current state of the conflict in
Afghanistan and the spiral rise of casualties, the European
nations are in a reluctant mood to send more troops to
Afghanistan. “Honestly in Europe there is not great enthusiasm
for sending more troops to Afghanistan. That is the public
opinion in Europe," European Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso said in Washington. He further emphasized the need for
strengthening governance and improving the training of the
Afghan security forces in Afghanistan and reiterated that the
EU, with about 1 billion euros ($1.48 billion) annually, is
the biggest contributor to the civilian aid in Afghanistan.
With the cost of more lives, the mission has almost turned to
a farce--sending troops from all over the world to protect the
Karzai government. As the primary goals of enhancing security
and providing requisite humanitarian needs become harder in
the face of the Taliban attacks, the dissatisfaction and the
futility of the mission in Afghanistan is laid bare. Over 40
countries have sent forces there under NATO’s auspices. There
are some 67,000 U.S. troops and 42,000 from allied nations.
Thus, many European nations are increasingly favoring the
withdrawal of troops. Lately, Britain has been traumatized as
an Afghan policeman killed five British soldiers. This
incident has raised various questions regarding the training
of the Afghan police and its relations with the NATO forces
stationed there. In an opinion poll taken by ComRes (a leading
polling and research consultancy) for the BBC, over 40 per
cent said they don’t understand why British troops are
fighting in Afghanistan and some 64 per cent hold that “the
war in Afghanistan is unwinnable”. Also about 63 per cent
agree that the British troops should be withdrawn without
delay, while some 54 per cent acknowledged that they “had a
good understanding of the purpose of British’s mission in
Afghanistan”.
“Overall there is the sense that Afghanistan is becoming for
(British Prime Minister) Gordon Brown what Iraq became for
(his predecessor) Tony Blair," said Andrew Hawkins, chief
executive of ComRes. In Germany, polls indicate that about
two-third of the people favour troop withdrawal. In support of
the popular voice, its Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said
recently that Germany was likely to stand by its ceiling of
4,500 troops when it renews a parliamentary mandate in
December.
Further, adding to the dilemma of the current debate regarding
the US troop surge in Afghanistan, US national security
adviser, James Jones, has said there is no guarantee that
sending extra troops to Afghanistan would solve NATO's
problems, and that they could just be “swallowed up”.
Commenting on General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and
NATO commander in Afghanistan, proposal of further increase of
40,000 troops, he said, “Generals always ask for more troops.”
Though an abrupt withdrawal would create a power vacuum for
the Taliban to seize, the increasing attacks and casualties
are creating a public outcry in the European countries against
the continued presence of their troops. The Obama
Administration has to walk a tightrope in convincing the
nations to hang on. As the Afghan campaign comes under serious
strain, President Karzai will need to justify his governance
to the international community. On the other hand, the NATO
countries have to continually answer to their domestic
constituencies regarding the conduct and the purpose of their
involvement in Afghanistan. ---INFA
(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)
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