First Secretary Haidari Speaks at Syracuse University
First Secretary M. Ashraf Haidari addressed students and faculty at the Syracuse University College of Law Institute for National Security and Counter-Terrorism on February 15, 2007. He discussed “Security and Development in Afghanistan: Challenges and Opportunities.”
Secretary Haidari opened his remarks by outlining the historical conditions that resulted in the tragic events of 9/11. The twin negligence of Afghanistan’s post Cold War reconstruction following the Soviet defeat and failure to reintegrate the thousands of transnational extremists that had fought in the Afghan jihad contributed to Afghanistan’s instability and regional insecurity. “The United States did not only neglect Afghanistan’s post-war reconstruction but also the thousands of ‘soldiers of God’ it had recruited worldwide to fight in the Afghan jihad. But the jihadis were now left behind in a devastated country in the middle of a volatile and predatory neighborhood,” Haidari said.
“At the same time, the US departure effectively allowed Pakistan to take advantage of the factional infighting in Afghanistan to secure strategic depth there. To achieve this grand strategic objective, Pakistan created the extremist Taliban movement in 1994, through which it was able to establish a firm foothold in Afghanistan,” he added. He pointed out that because the leadership of the Taliban was supported by Pakistan’s Islamists and their foot soldiers comprised of the jihad era fighters, Al Qaeda easily found a safe sanctuary in Afghanistan. “In spite of these dangerous developments in Afghanistan, our country and people were still neglected at the dawn of the 21st century. In fact, it was this continued negligence of Afghanistan that allowed the Al Qaeda operatives to mastermind the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the safe sanctuaries provided by the Pakistan-backed Taliban regime in Afghanistan., Haidari said.
However, Haidari lauded international reengagement in Afghanistan in 2001, and expressed the Government’s and people’s gratitude for the assistance of the international community and the United States. “Today, we have the most progressive Constitution in the region, and Afghanistan is a sovereign nation with an elected president and parliament, he said. But despite these key achievements, peace remains elusive in Afghanistan five years on as a result of three destabilizing factors with local, regional and transnational dimensions,” Haidari said.
He highlighted weak state institutions due to a lack of resources, the regional problem of cross-border terrorism, and the transnational problem of drug-trafficking as the causes of increased instability in Afghanistan. He discussed the causes of and solutions to each of these sources of instability in detail, and concluded by expressing the Embassy’s appreciation for President Bush’s recent announcement of $11.8 billion in aid. These vital resources will be allocated to build Afghanistan’s security institutions and to implement alternative development and infrastructure projects over the next two years.
