The War in Afghanistan - No Excuses
We owe a moral debt to the people of Afghanistan, and our inability to cover the tab is largely because of the disaster in Iraq. The Iraq war has impacted the Afghanistan campaign in all sorts of negative ways. It has weakened the will of Western governments to meet their obligations, and has added immeasurably to public cynicism. Yet the inescapable fact remains that we owe a moral debt that must be honored.
Let's not forget that the removal of the Taliban was mandated by the United Nations, and all the Muslim member countries stood together in a call for the removal of the regime. But five years down the road the campaign is mired in difficulty in the face of a resurgent Taliban, although I use that term advisedly since foreign fighters have moved into the arena also - small groups of jihadis along with increasing numbers of Pashtuns, some from homeland regions in Pakistan. This is happening in part because countries who made a commitment to Afghanistan have been reneging on their obligations.
The recent NATO meeting in Belguim yielded little in the way of guarantees since the needs of Lebanon appeared to trump the call for re-enforcements in Afghanistan. PM Harper needs to keep up the pressure in demanding that countries step up to the plate and meet their obligations. Why should Canadian soldiers pay the price for the failure of others to live up to their obligations? This has left a gaping hole in our military capability. It has forced our troops to fall back on emergency tactics at times in order to cover for short falls and weak links.
Canada has been struggling to meet its obligations, despite the difficult conditions. This effort isn't only military. A Provincial Reconstruction Team in southern Afghanistan provides much needed security and is also engaged in development projects. Afghanistan is a major recipient of Canadian bilateral aid and by the year 2009 this will amount to some $600 million.
Canadian Chief-of-Defence staff, Rick Hillier, has been pushing the combat end of the Canadian role at the expense of other equally important considerations. In many ways the key to the Taliban position lies with the Pashtun, and there will never be any solution to the problems bedeviling Afghanistan unless they obtain adequate representation in Karzai's government. The stated goals of the NATO mission require strenuous diplomatic efforts to seek a resolution over and above the military aspect of the campaign.
Afghanistan is a vast land and many adversaries have been defeated by the sheer odds presented by geography and the patience of an indigenous people who seem willing to hold out to the bitter end, no matter what the cost. Trying to obtain any type of conventional military victory under these circumstances is foolhardy.
The US has a vital role in this international effort. Those in the international community who have seen the contributions American aid, NGO's and other outreach efforts have made, know well the tremendous power for good that America represents. Aid and development also needs to be accompanied with a serious attempt to bolster the Afghan military and police. As for the poppy crop, leave it alone. Farmers have no other means of supporting their families. Interfering with the crop will simply add to a widespread sense of grievance. Surely some marketing board solution could be implemented, so that the crop is used for legitimate pharmaceutical purposes.
We have to do it right - or give serious consideration to not doing it at all.
Aidan Maconachy resides in Ontario, Canada. He has a BA Hons and a BEd. He taught in the UK and Canada, and has been a contributor to a variety of magazines and newspapers over the years. You can visit his blog at Source: http://ezinearticles.com/
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