War-torn Afghanistan yearns to join family of nations, ambassador
to U.S. says
BY LISA TREI
11/16/2005
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/november16/afghan-111605.html
Four years after the ouster of the extremist Taliban
government, Afghanistan is moving ahead but needs investment
and expertise to recover from 30 years of war, the country's
ambassador to the United States said during a Nov. 14 luncheon
at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
"Afghanistan has come a long way but the
journey has just started," said Said Tayeb Jawad, a former
exile who returned to work for his homeland in 2002. The one-time
San Francisco-based legal consultant was named Afghanistan's
ambassador to Washington two years ago by then-Interim President
Hamid Karzai. "We would like to join the family of nations
once again and stand on our own feet as soon as possible,"
he said.
In an address to about 100 faculty, students,
staff and donors, Jawad spoke of his country's strategic role
in the war on terrorism. "Global security is one concept,"
he said. "In order to fight terrorism effectively, better
investment in Afghanistan is needed to stabilize the country
and make [it] a safer place for Afghans and, therefore, global
security."
Afghanistan has established all the institutions
needed for the emergence of a civil society, Jawad said. A new
constitution was approved in January 2004, presidential elections
took place in October of that year and elections for a new parliament
were held two months ago. "The constitution we have adopted
is the most liberal in the region," he said. Although problems
abound—Afghanistan is the poorest country in Asia, only
6 percent of its residents have access to electricity and only
22 percent have clean water—the ambassador expressed hope
for the future. About 3.6 million refugees have returned home,
he said, and 86 percent of Afghans think they are better off
today than four years ago, according to an Asia Foundation survey.
Émigrés are the leading investors
in the country, Jawad said, noting that an Afghan American recently
pumped $150 million into the country's nascent cell phone system.
Many others, including Jawad himself, have heeded President
Karzai's call for émigré professionals to aid
their homeland. Other international expertise is also moving
in: Eleven foreign banks have opened for business and 60,000
skilled workers from Pakistan and Iran have moved to Kabul.
"We are trying to reconnect the country by building roads
and the communication system," Jawad said. "Reconnecting
the country is important for national unity but also for the
fight against terrorism and narcotics."
Tackling the profitable opium trade is a top challenge
facing the government and its greatest obstacle to national
reconstruction, Jawad said. "Its proceeds feed into terrorism
and lawlessness," he said. In the past, horticulture comprised
70 percent of Afghanistan's exports. But 30 years of war decimated
a generation of farmers and destroyed traditional farming. "If
you have a vineyard or orchard, you have to have a prospect
of 10 years," the ambassador said. "If you don't have
a sense of hope, you grow poppy seeds. It takes three months
to harvest poppy. You can put it in a bag, take it with you
and become a refugee again."
While terrorists and the Taliban are defeated
in Afghanistan, Jawad said, they are not eliminated and they
continue to attack what he described as soft targets: schools
and mosques and aid workers. But in the last two days, a U.S.
soldier and NATO peacekeepers were killed in attacks, which
police blame on al-Qaida. To help counter this, efforts are
under way to build a trained national army and police force.
More than 36,000 soldiers already have been trained. While the
country is grateful for foreign military assistance, the ambassador
said, "It's our job to defend our country."
The country's leadership also allowed lower-ranking
Taliban to join the government; three former officials have
been elected to the new parliament. "This was a decision
that was difficult to take," Jawad said. "But we want
to deny terrorists a recruiting ground. We are trying to pursue
a policy of reconciliation. We cannot afford to have another
circle of violence and another circle of revenge."
At the end of the address, institute Director
Coit Blacker reiterated a formal statement initially made in
August inviting President Karzai to visit Stanford.
