View from Washington
Ambassador Said T. Jawad
Afghan Scene Magazine
06/01/2004
The September 11 terrorist attacks on the United
States marked the culmination of state failure in Afghanistan
under the Taliban where international terrorists found safe
haven, terrorized and victimized the Afghan people, and used
the Afghan territory as an operating and training ground for
international terrorism. Al-Qaida and the Taliban posed serious
threat to international peace and security and the national
interests of Afghanistan.
The painful experiences of the 1990s in Afghanistan
proved that some Afghan leaders such as Hamid Karzai were right
in arguing that state failure in one country can affect peace
and security in the whole region and possibly the entire world.
More than 3,000 innocent American lives were lost in the terrorist
attacks orchestrated by Al-Qaida operatives on September 11.
The United States government responded and, with the assistance
of the Afghan people, ended the tyranny of Taliban and destroyed
terrorist bases in Afghanistan. The Afghan people welcomed President
George W. Bush's decisive action against the Taliban and are
grateful for United States' commitment to the long-term reconstruction
of Afghanistan.
The international community joined the United
States in the effort to help Afghanistan rebuild after over
two decades of conflicts. On 14 November 2001, five weeks into
US-led operations in Afghanistan, the Security Council endorsed
an urgent meeting of Afghan political leaders to form an interim,
post-Taliban governing regime for the country and to establish
a framework for its physical, political, and economic reconstruction.
The Bonn meeting in early December 2001 brought together UN
officials, Afghan leaders and members of the international community
to discuss the country's future. Security Council Resolution
1386 provided for the creation of International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF) and its deployment to Kabul and the surrounding
areas to help the Afghan Interim Authority create a secure environment
in Kabul.
Initially, nineteen countries contributed troops
and logistical supplies to ISAF. This number has grown close
to 30 countries. The number of ISAF forces has increased from
4,500 to nearly 6,000 peacekeepers currently maintained by the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Since the inauguration of the new government in
Afghanistan, there has been strong bi-partisan support for long-term
assistance to Afghanistan. Long before
launching the destructive attacks on the United States, Al-Qaida
had been destroying and terrorizing Afghanistan and its people.
Afghans were the prime victims of terror, as the Taliban had
invited Al-Qaeda to base its campaign in Afghanistan. President
Bush has repeatedly stressed in his remarks that "the United
States and Afghanistan are united in our common
effort to defeat terrorism and to build a more secure and prosperous
future for both American and Afghan peoples."
The United States and the international community
share a common interest in
the reconstruction and sustainable development of Afghanistan
to foster regional stability and bolster global security. The
United States has firmly stayed the course in Afghanistan by
helping the country accomplish several of its major goals outlined
in the Bonn Agreement.
We have taken important steps toward the goal of becoming a
viable partner and a
model to build our national institutions. A passage from the
preamble of the new Constitution sets the course for the direction
Afghanistan has taken: "We, the People of Afghanistan…for
creation of a civil society free of oppression, atrocity, discrimination
and violence and based upon the rule of law, social justice,
protection of human rights, and dignity and ensuring the fundamental
rights and freedoms of the people…have adopted this Constitution
in compliance with the historical,
cultural, and social requirements of the era…"
The Afghan nascent army has now over 8,000 troops
which have already deployed on combat missions with the coalition
forces. They have conducted presence patrols and provided stability
in the west and north of Afghanistan after outbreaks of factional
fighting.
Infrastructure reconstruction has begun with the
construction of Afghanistan's national ring road connecting
Kabul to major provincial centers across the nation. The road
has greatly shortened travel time allowing rapid flow of trade
and movement of people.
In September of this year, national elections
are scheduled to be held. Over 2 million Afghans have registered
to vote as the process rigorously continues to include 9.5 million
eligible voters to elect their future leader.
Credit is due to Afghans and their international
partners for having accomplished the above goals. But they need
to be reminded that many challenges remain to be tackled in
the ongoing state building process in Afghanistan. Post-conflict
rebuilding is an international enterprise that needs sustainable
resources, strategic coordination, long-term political support,
and cooperation of regional actors. There is international consensus
that left untended again, the remaining challenges in Afghanistan
will jeopardize the recent peace building achievements with
grave implications for global peace and stability. We need sustainable
US assistance to overcome many challenges facing us. We are
realistic about our difficulties. Afghans face the general challenge
of building a state and providing for good governance, after
the complete destruction of all national institutions and a
severe shortage of resources and human capital. To overcome
these difficulties we must reform, strengthen and rebuild our
government institutions to make them accountable, capable, and
more representative, and we must improve local and district
level governance. We must enhance government capacity to deliver
services to all corners of the country, especially in areas
prone to terrorist infiltration. All Afghans have not yet benefited
from the peace dividend. We must eliminate corruption, nepotism
and abuse of power that undermine our recovery
process.
We are also facing the specific challenges of
preparing the logistical and legal grounds for the election
and building the institutions and the capacity needed to prepare
and enact the enabling laws required by the new Constitution.
We continue to confront security challenges posed
by the terrorists and other elements. To overcome security problems
we must expedite the building of our national army and professional
police force. We have asked our international partners to enhance
security in the provinces by expediting the deployment of the
ISAF and/or the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). We welcomed
the NATO and the UN decision to expand ISAF outside of Kabul
and to increase the number of PRTs from 12 to 16 before the
election. We must accelerate the demobilization, disarmament
and reintegration program, and prevent extremists from high-jacking
democracy and the nation-building process for personal gain
or factional agenda.
Narcotics pose a serious challenge for all of
us. Cultivation and trafficking of narcotics go hand in hand
with terrorism and warlordism. It is in our best national interest
to fight them all. President
Karzai is committed to mobilizing all of our resources in the
fight against narcotics. We know Afghanistan's heroin, which
sells on the retail market for one hundred times the Farm gate
price, is one of the sources of the illegal money that funds
international terrorism and crimes across the region. It also
finances the destabilizing activities of warlords and criminals
in Afghanistan. The international community and our government
cannot afford to wait as these destructive trends reverse our
recovery process and further endanger global security. We shall
mobilize all available resources to fight drugs in Afghanistan.
The government of Afghanistan has adopted a National Drug Strategy
aimed at drastically reducing poppy cultivation, encouraging
alternative income streams, destroying drug labs, strengthening
law enforcement, training specialized national police units,
and developing the justice sector to facilitate the proper prosecution
and sentencing of traffickers. To overcome these challenges
and to make the nation building process in Afghanistan irreversible,
Afghans need and demand the accelerated support and the sustained
engagement by the United States and the international community.
Afghans cherish the growing partnership and warm friendship
forged between our two nations.
By helping Afghanistan sustain the recovery
process, the United States of
America and other nations are assisting to provide the future
blueprint for democracy in similar societies, the very best
antidote to extremism and terrorism.
