Afghanistan Archives - Page 36 of 76 - Foreign Policy In Focus

The Cost of Complacency: Afghanistan’s Faltering Peace-building Process

by Mark Sedra | Mar 17, 2003

The success of peace-building activities in Afghanistan, a nation physically and psychologically scarred by 23 years of internecine conflict, is dependent on the existence of a robust and durable commitment by the international community. British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s pronouncement on the eve of the fall of the Taliban, that “we will not walk away from Afghanistan, as the outside world has done so many times before” reassured many that this commitment would be forthcoming (Independent, February 24, 2003). The January 2002 Tokyo International Donors Conference, which resulted in extensive material and moral pledges to rebuild Afghanistan bolstered this initial optimism. The Tokyo meeting rightly recognized that peace building in Afghanistan is a process that must be pursued on two parallel tracks, security sector reform and economic development. “Security and development are two sides of the same coin,” President Karzai affirmed during his opening address at the conference.

Afghanistan: Between War and Reconstruction: Where Do We Go From Here?

by Mark Sedra | Mar 1, 2003

The internationally supported reconstruction and nation-building effort in Afghanistan can boast many successes in the period since the Taliban’s collapse in November 2001. Two million Afghan refugees have returned to the country; three million Afghan children, particularly girls, have resumed school; a new currency, the Afghani, has been established; and a central government, chosen on a democratic basis, has grown more assertive and effective with each passing day.

The “Day After” in Iraq: Lessons from Afghanistan

by Mark Sedra | Mar 1, 2003

Much of the current debate on the crisis in Iraq focuses on the “day after” the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime. What will Iraq look like and how will the United States and the international community rebuild the country and fulfill its promise of “reshaping” it into a bastion of democracy for the entire region?

American Commander Alters Military Strategy in Afghanistan

by Ahmed Rashid | Jan 17, 2003

A U.S. military spokesman reported on January 13th that Special Forces soldiers had discovered hundreds of pounds of explosives buried in feed sacks in the eastern Afghanistan city of Jalalabad. The discovery comes on the heels of a decision by the American commander in Afghanistan to expand security- and reconstruction-related missions beyond Kabul, the capital. This shift will improve Afghan stability, but critics say it stops short of a full solution.

Afghan Women: Enduring American “Freedom”

by Sonali Kolhatkar | Nov 1, 2002

In January 2002, George W. Bush told us in his State of the Union Address: “The last time we met in this chamber, the mothers and daughters of Afghanistan were captives in their own homes, forbidden from working or going to school. Today women are free .…” Last month, in an October 11th statement, the president again congratulated himself: “We went into Afghanistan to free people, because we believe in freedom. We believe every life counts. Every life matters. So we’re helping people recover from living under years of tyranny and oppression. We’re helping Afghanistan claim its democratic future.”

Afghanistan: It Is Time for a Change in the Nation-Building Strategy

by Mark Sedra | Nov 1, 2002

Events of recent months demonstrate that a shift in the nation-building strategy adopted by the international community in Afghanistan is needed. Reconstruction and development have been alarmingly slow and the security situation across the country is gradually deteriorating. Spoiler groups, most notably former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami party and the remnants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda have proven to be more resilient than earlier anticipated and are regrouping. Recalcitrant warlords, many receiving the support of the U.S. government, have also proven to be a monumental obstacle to security and development. The historical parallels between the present security situation and that which existed immediately prior to the Taliban’s ascent to power are striking and should not be overlooked. Security conditions in certain regional centers appear to have reverted to the status quo ante of 1992.

In Afghanistan, Paying for War is Easier than Paying for Peace

by Frida Berrigan | Nov 1, 2002

As Washington prepares for war in Iraq, officials are trying to reassure Afghanistan that it will not be lost in the shuffle. Muhammad Ali, heavy weight champ and UN Messenger of Peace, recently completed a three-day tour of Afghanistan where he tried to focus international attention on the country’s plight and gave volleyballs and jumping ropes to children. U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill also came, bearing promises that the war in Iraq would not derail Washington’s commitment to rebuilding Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Donor Inaction and Ineffectiveness

by Mark Sedra | Oct 1, 2002

The fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in November 2001 presented the international community with an unprecedented opportunity to restore peace and security to a perennial trouble spot. Almost one year later it appears that it has failed.

Afghanistan Quagmire

by Jim Lobe | Sep 1, 2002

Afghanistan is beginning to look like a quagmire rather than a victory, with echoes of the confusion and uncertainty and persistent bloodshedding of Vietnam. Compounding the complications of the U.S. goal of hunting down the Taliban and Al Qaeda while stabilizing a fragile government is the swirl of ethnic tensions in Afghanistan fueled by competing warlords.

Slow Western Aid Could Undermine Afghan Stability

by Ahmed Rashid | Jul 1, 2002

Western aid is not reaching Afghanistan at the same pace that President Hamid Karzai is setting in his efforts to build a legitimate, ethnically balanced national army. Afghans are growing increasingly dissatisfied with the United States and the Karzai government, whose budget is running alarmingly short. With refugees desperate for aid and no foreign donors willing to underwrite major reconstruction efforts until spring 2003, Karzai’s aggressive initiatives to reduce regional warlords’ power face a severe test.