Speeches



“STRENGTHENING AFGHANISTAN AND THE REGION”
Remarks made by Ambassador Said T. Jawad
LIECHTENSTEIN COLLOQUIUM ON EUROPEAN & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS:
07/24/2005

Ladies and Gentlemen

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Liechtenstein Institute of Self-Determination of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University for convening this important forum on “Promoting Stability and Viability in Afghanistan and the Region”, as well as the Turkish Government for their warm hospitality. I am honored to be here with you.

I would like to speak about our policy of seeking enduring partnerships with the U.S.A., our partners in Europe and our friends in the region.

Afghanistan has stood center-stage during history’s major regional and global events. From the conquests of Alexander the Great to the emergence of Afghan empires and from the Cold War to the global war against terror, Afghanistan’s destiny has been inseparably linked with the political evolution throughout our region and, indeed, throughout the world. Commerce and trade has been one of the vital links in this chain as traders traveled the ancient Silk Route and found safe passage through Afghanistan. Just as the Silk Route enabled the trading of goods and knowledge between China and the heart of Europe, Afghanistan is once more filling its historic role as a bridge between cultures, countries and civilizations. Geographically, Afghanistan is the land bridge connecting Central Asia, with the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East, and historically the Afghan people have embraced and represented a melting pot of cultures and civilizations.

As I look to the past, I also look forward to the bright future and the possibilities available to Afghanistan as we once again take our place in the international community.

Afghanistan’s relationship with the United States is rooted in history and has played a major role in my nation’s recent reemergence on the world scene. The first contact between our peoples was established in the 1830’s by a Pennsylvanian adventurer, Josiah Harlan, who helped train the Afghan Royal Army. President Dwight D. Eisenhower made history when he became the first U.S. President to visit Afghanistan on December 9, 1959. Reflecting on his trip, he noted that he found the Afghan people to be “the most determined lot he had ever encountered.” His Majesty former King Zahir Shah furthered the relationship when he visited Washington and President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

The Cold War and the Soviet invasion in 1979 once again placed Afghanistan high on the U.S. agenda. While US assistance during this period ensured victory for the Afghans against the Red Army, the result was also a debilitating form extremism that was able to take root in the subsequent power vacuum. Many foreign sources and institutions either ignored extremist forces or chose to support them in the furious battle against communism. Unfortunately, the men, women and children of Afghanistan were subject to the ramifications of these policies for decades and were forced to endure unspeakable horrors throughout.

After the Soviet withdrawal, the United States pursued a policy of disengagement and the Afghan people were left alone to deal with the enormous amount of weaponry and extremism that had been infused into a small and devastated country. The disengagement proved costly both for Afghanistan and global security. Afghans became the prime victims of terror, as the tyrannical regime of the Taliban invited Al-Qaeda to base its campaign of terror in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, US reengagement with Afghanistan was spurred not by the pursuit of economic and culture exchange, but by the horror and tragedy of 9/11.

Afghans and Americans have joined together to fight and win two of the most important battles in our history. First, we joined hands in defeating communism and now we are fighting together for a complete and decisive victory over the terrorism that has sought to destroy lives throughout the world. It is out of this violence and devastation that the citizens of Afghanistan, in coordination with the international community, now have the opportunity to establish the stability, growth and freedom which all of the world’s citizen’s desire.

The United States has been leading the international community in this effort to rebuild Afghanistan. Today, 17,000 U.S. troops are fighting alongside Afghans to make both the nation and the world a safer place. We are grateful to each and every one of these soldiers and their families at home waiting anxiously for their return. About 170 U.S. soldiers have sacrificed their lives in Afghanistan, a third of which was combat related. They are truly heroes and have given their lives to bring freedom to Afghanistan and stability to the world.

On May 23rd, President Karzai and President Bush signed the historic Joint Declaration of the U.S.-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership in order to consolidate our close relationship, address our long-term security needs, support good democratic governance, and strengthen the emerging civil society and the Afghan Government.

The U.S.-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership supports Afghanistan's initiatives to restore the country's historic role as a land bridge connecting Central and South Asia. It will help shift the pattern of regional relations from rivalry and antagonism to economic and political cooperation which will lay a foundation for stability and prosperity throughout the region. While the Partnership is not directed against a specific third party, it is intended to deter outside forces from negatively affecting the internal affairs of Afghanistan. Under the Partnership, both countries will take appropriate action in the event that Afghanistan perceives that its territorial integrity, independence or security is threatened or at risk. The Partnership supports our border security initiatives and the counter-narcotics programs which are vital to Afghanistan’s future success.

In order to achieve these objectives, and as stipulated by the Strategic Partnership, the U.S. will continue to have access to a number of bases and military facilities in Afghanistan.

Our people welcome the U.S. engagement in Afghanistan. Where extremists have tried to build walls, we are building bridges. The emergence of a stable, democratic, and thriving Afghanistan, eager to partner with the United States, is a great opportunity for the region and an important asset for global security.

The U.S.-Afghanistan partnership has yielded significant results for our people. The United States is helping rebuild Afghanistan’s infrastructure by developing a network of roads and highways. Upon completion of this system, all Central Asian capitals will be less than 32 hours from the Persian Gulf. The United States is also helping to build our clinics, schools, district government facilities, court houses, industrial parks, and power generation facilities. Such projects will ensure that all Afghans see the benefits of the democracy and peace we have long struggled to obtain.

While the United States has played, and will continue to play, a vital role in Afghanistan’s resurgence, other members of the international community have also pledged their support. This support will once again be asserted this week as the Government of Afghanistan and the United Kingdom will sign a “Joint Declaration of an Enduring Relationship between the UK and Afghanistan.”

The reconstruction of Afghanistan is a long term project and, as evidenced by the disastrous post-Cold War period, it is essential that our allies and friends stand by us even after a new world crisis has taken the spotlight. This Joint Declaration serves to ensure that the working relationship between the UK and Afghanistan will extend well into the future. Through the Declaration, the Government of Afghanistan has pledged to continue down the path of democracy by establishing the accountable and transparent institutions necessary for a successful democracy. Most significantly, perhaps, the United Kingdom has promised to maintain its support of the Afghan security and counter-narcotics forces. The expansion and training of these forces is essential for the continued security of Afghanistan as we strive to eliminate the blight of a drug trade that threatens our nation.

The people of Afghanistan are thankful for the assistance already provided by the United Kingdom and further welcome the long term relationship enshrined in the Joint Declaration. The Declaration will provide consolidation and increased legitimacy to the positive forces in Afghanistan and further weaken and discourage the destabilizing forces both within and outside of the country. In this way, the Government of Afghanistan may continue to build the foundation from which a stable and open democracy can grow.

The people of Afghanistan have put their trust in the international community and recognize its role in the establishment of a stable, democratic Afghanistan. Afghans recognize the benefits of this relationship and are grateful for the international security and economic support we have received over the last three years. The United Kingdom and the European Union, in particular, have been one of the largest supporters of Afghanistan. We are grateful for their generous contributions, the commitment of troops from their nations and the technical assistance they continue to provide.

With help from the United States, Europe and others in the international community, we have trained a new police force of some 50,000 as well as a special force to conduct counter-narcotics operations. The new Afghan National Army, currently 30,000 strong, is increasingly taking the responsibility for security throughout the country. While these successes are significant, the road remains long and we have many obstacles to overcome.

With such obstacles in mind, we ask our friends and allies to take a long term perspective on Afghanistan’s future. The United Kingdom has pledged their long term support through the Joint Declaration and I urge our other European friends to provide similar assurances that Afghanistan will not be forgotten. In particular, we hope Europe will see the need for multi-year pledges of aid to Afghanistan to support our reconstruction. Such long term aid will provide the consistency and sustainability that are prerequisites for any successful development and reconstruction operation.

Today in Afghanistan, something unprecedented is taking place. In the true spirit of co-operation, people from all corners of the world, people from different faiths, different cultures and backgrounds, are helping to secure the futures of the Afghan people and to rebuild that which was destroyed. It is clear that, without this co-operation, Afghans would never have accomplished what we have over the past three years. Just as Europe’s citizens reached out 60 years ago from the brink of starvation and struggling to lift themselves from the devastation wrought by war, so do the citizens of Afghanistan reach out today. And just as failure then would have led to a desperate spiral into Communism felt throughout the world, failure today will once again open the door to extremists capable of exporting violence to all corners of the globe.

We have taken the first steps to stamp out this extremism and I believe our new Constitution articulates the enlightened, progressive ideas which will guide our future. The Constitution recognizes our cultural and religious heritage, while safeguarding the rights of all citizens, and celebrating our rich diversity. Where the Taliban oppressed women and sentenced them to a life without opportunity, our new Constitution demands and guarantees equality for all citizens. The result was a presidential election which brought almost 80 percent of Afghans to the polls, 42 percent of whom were women, and was a milestone, unparalleled in its political and historical significance for our country.

Our Constitution has facilitated the implementation of a system which will ensure greater economic growth. In the past 3 years we have introduced a new currency, stabilized inflation, and adopted new laws to attract investment. As a result, hundreds of millions of dollars of investment have flowed into Afghanistan. Afghan citizens are already feeling the effects of such investment as wages continue to increase, hospitals begin to open, banks become more available, and mobile phones serve to connect friends, family and business partners around the country. This growth has been encouraged by the government as we attempt to create an environment that is conducive to business and also able to properly serve all Afghans. We have established the Afghan Investment Support Agency as a one-stop shop to facilitate and promote investment in Afghanistan. We have established three new industrial parks. We have passed new Investment and Banking Laws, along with a new Anti-Money Laundering law, which have encouraged more than eleven foreign banks to open offices in Afghanistan.

Domestic stability will lead to greater regional interaction and if, as stated by John Stuart Mill, trade does in fact function as the guarantor of peace, then the growth in regional trade between Afghanistan and its neighbors is cause for hope. Trade and commerce between Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, China and others is growing as Afghanistan once again takes its position along the Silk Route.

A major part of the reconstruction plan has been to connect the nation to neighboring countries and once again establish Afghanistan as a major transit point in the region. Our neighbors are benefiting from our stability and the emergence of a new and demanding market in the region. Pakistan, whose annual exports to Afghanistan were less than 50 million dollars three years ago, exported close to a billion dollars of goods to Afghanistan last year. The regional labor market has also been impacted as Afghanistan has attracted more than 60,000 people from Iran and Pakistan.

The Government of Afghanistan also recognizes that its neighbors may also be able to lend a hand in the reconstruction effort. Both the Government of Iran and the Iranian private sector have recognized the potential of the Afghan market and are helping with the reconstruction process. Turkey has joined the international effort and played a significant role in strengthening the security situation and rebuilding the country. The Government of India has provided essential assistance to our infrastructure needs as well to the government’s capacity to deliver services.

Our region is culturally rich, naturally endowed and strategically located. Together we have tremendous potential to grow and prosper and it is time that we speak with one voice to articulate a new vision for our region. It is our responsibility to secure a brighter future for the citizens of our region who deserve every economic, social and cultural opportunity.

The people of Afghanistan have survived some of the most horrific and appalling circumstances the modern world has witnessed. But, while we remember the past, we do not remain frozen in it. The spirit which kept Afghans alive against all odds in the past is today propelling Afghanistan forward to a new era of international and regional cooperation.

We, the Afghan people, are determined to never again let our country become the breeding and operating ground for terrorism and we expect no less from our neighbors. There is a consensus in Afghanistan that our future depends on reestablishing a secure, accountable, prosperous state and this must be accomplished through a sustainable partnership with the international community and our friends in the region.

I believe Afghanistan is beginning to live up to its end of this partnership. The emergence of a stable, democratic, and thriving Afghanistan, eager to cooperate, is a tremendous opportunity for the region. Afghanistan is keen to play its part in promoting a more symbiotic economic relationship in the region. We are constructing our highways, so that markets and capitals in the region can be connected. We are working on the oil and gas pipeline project, so that energy reservoirs in one part of the region can be linked, through the shortest and quickest route, to consumer markets in other areas. Afghanistan will once again become a crossroads of trade and commerce, bridging South and Central Asia with the Middle East. We do this because we recognize our prospects are invariably linked and we are determined to seize upon our strengths in order to lead the region into a brighter future.

Such a vision is only achieved by a state that is accountable to its citizens and cooperates with the region and the international community. Such states stand on two pillars. First, the state must be driven by a national policy able to guarantee freedom and security for all people and ensure a consistent and effective fight against terrorism. Second, the state must implement an economic policy that will uplift citizens from every region and every class from the vulnerability and poverty; a poverty which leaves the young hopeless and, too often, prone to violence. Such economic prosperity must initially be encouraged through foreign and domestic investments aimed at reconstructing the infrastructure and the rebuilding of institutions which enable the growth of trade and investment.

The establishment of security and prosperity within Afghanistan is necessary for the promotion of security and prosperity in the region and the world. We do not want to live in the past and we are determined not to let the events of the past harm our relationships in the present. We extend a sincere hand of friendship to all of our neighbors on the basis of mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. We will never permit our soil to be a staging ground for any subversive activities against any of our neighbors or any other country in the world. Our concept of defense forces is just that, an affordable, mobile and efficient force able to defend the territorial integrity, independence and security of our country. We are heartened that neighboring governments have expressed their support for our state building efforts. Unfortunately, rogue elements in the region remain bent on causing chaos and destruction which threaten Afghanistan, the region and the world.

Rhetoric and enlightened ideals will, however, only drive development so far when confronted by the reality of war and destruction. We must recognize that Afghanistan still faces enormous obstacles. The effects of massive devastation caused by 25 years of war are very much present in our country. By many development indicators, Afghanistan is still among the poorest countries in the world.

Security is a prerequisite for economic growth and while the terrorists and the Taliban have been overpowered and defeated, they have not been eliminated. The government policy of encouraging low ranking Taliban to lay down their arms and return to their homes and villages has left the leadership of the Taliban fragmented and isolated. However, we still encounter pockets of terrorist activities seeking to strike soft targets, such as aid workers, schools, mosques, and highways. The south and south east have been particularly vulnerable. Zabul Province, and parts of adjoining Kandahar and Uruzgan provinces - roughly 100 square miles of mountain and valleys along the border of Pakistan, have continued to experience the destabilizing violence which threatens the lives and livelihoods of our citizens. While the activities of Afghan and international forces have taken a significant toll on the Taliban in these regions, the Taliban continue to receive recruits from across the border allowing them to incite further violence.

In addition to the violent acts perpetrated by former Taliban members, narcotics pose a serious challenge for Afghanistan and the world community. Together with our allies, we will be spending one billion dollars to fight the menace of narcotics this year. Cultivation and trafficking of narcotics go hand in hand with the terrorism and lawlessness that undermine the state building process and good governance. It is in our national interest to fight those perpetrating the illegal economy in a focused and sustained manner. We know that heroin is one of the funding sources for the destabilizing activities of warlords and criminals in Afghanistan, for crimes throughout the region and, significantly, for international terrorism in Europe and elsewhere. Without continued vigilance against the drug problem in Afghanistan, the light which has so carefully been kindled throughout the past four years may very well be extinguished.

Warlords and private militias, with the support of this illegal economy, pose a threat to the stability and democracy of our country. They continue to oppress people, challenge governmental authority and defy the rule of law. The Afghan people demand and insist on disarming and demobilizing these private militias. Only with your support, and that of the international community, can put an end to this illegal economy and disarm those whom thwart the law.

Unfortunately, narcotics are not new to Afghanistan. The war and violence of the decade-long Soviet occupation devastated Afghanistan's agricultural economy and destroyed rural communities. Social fragmentation replaced social cohesion and the traditional values and leadership were replaced by a culture of guns and violence. The situation did not improve in the post-Soviet era as factional infighting in the 1990’s further increased the suffering in Afghanistan. People lost their hope for the future and their trust in the rule of law. It is in this context of extreme hopelessness and human insecurity that Afghan farmers switched to the deadly crop of opium. These developments provided fertile soil for a drug mafia with regional and international criminal networks which has capitalized on the economic vulnerability of Afghans.

We are, however, making strides against the illegal economy and the network that supports it. We have adopted a National Drug Control Strategy consisting of eight pillars: 1) building institutions, 2) anti narcotics information and religious campaign, 3) alternative livelihoods, 4) interdiction and law enforcement, 5) reform of criminal justice, 6) eradication and destruction of poppy fields, 7) demand reduction, and 8) international and regional cooperation with our neighboring countries.

Our comprehensive strategy based, in part, on alternative development envisions a long-term, integrated approach to enhance human security in rural regions. We need resources these alternative livelihood programs, including major job-creating infrastructure forprojects, such as building roads and water dams, rural development, better farming techniques, and off-farm income generation programs. We also welcome the willingness of the coalition forces to play a greater role in assisting our Government with interdiction efforts. We look forward to developing a system in which they would be able arrest the drug traffickers, destroy drug laboratories and monitor drug routes and the shipment of chemicals. All this must be done, I believe, in coordination with efforts to build capacity so that the people of Afghanistan can maintain such efforts well into the future.

Support to our developmental program will be key in nurturing hope and creating prosperity in the country. The results, however, are still in the planning, design and financing stages and have not yet yielded demonstrable. We need to expedite our efforts in order to prove to the citizens of Afghanistan and the international community that we are accomplishing that which we and our allies have set out to do. We are therefore asking our friends in the international community to accelerate the transformation of their programs from conception to implementation.

Overall, to overcome our challenges, we need resources to reform, strengthen and enhance the enforcement capacity of our national institutions. We need funds to improve local and district level governance, and enhance government capacity to deliver services to every corner of the country, especially areas prone to terrorist infiltration.

Ladies and gentlemen, together we have come a long way, but our common journey is far from over. Many obstacles exist and numerous milestones remain to be reached before we can fully realize our shared vision of a stable, prosperous and democratic Afghanistan. This vision will and must be reached, not only for the citizens of Afghanistan but also for the citizens of New York, London, Madrid and Istanbul.

Thank you.