Afghans want a minimalist state

Afghans want a minimalist state Barbara Ferguson | Arab News

WASHINGTON: As the US Marines prepare to transition from Iraq to Afghanistan, their preparation will now include knowledge about the region and its people. At "Afghanistan at the Crossroads," a two-day seminar organized this week by the Marine Corps at Quantico, Virginia, the guest speakers included an impressive array of regional experts who defined America's national security objectives in Afghanistan and South Asia as the US prepares to deploy interagency and joint forces in this troubled part of the world. Ahmed Rashid, a well-known Pakistani journalist, candidly informed the audience of key decision-makers for the military, White House, and other US government agencies what needed to be done to finally "get it right" in the region. Rashid dropped a bombshell when he spoke of the "long line of resentment and feeling of US betrayal by the Afghans and Pakistanis" dating back to the US-assisted resistance against the Soviet Union in 1979. More recently, Rashid said emotions on the ground had been aggravated by major mistakes by the Bush Administration's failure to honor its promise to reconstruct Afghanistan after the 2001 invasion. "The Afghans thought the US presence meant they would help rebuild the country," Rashid said. "That didn't happen." Rashid also said that Afghani unhappiness with Americans was increased by Washington's decision to give money and arms to selected warlords. "These warlords morphed into corrupt businessmen, drug dealers, and politicians. It is now hard to get rid of them." Rashid warned of a potentially serious dilemma within the Afghani army, "(In which) an anti-American sentiment is growing strong." The Bush Administration "made another huge mistake" when it came to Afghanistan after 9/11, said Rashid, "Because the people wanted to hear (that the US) was coming in to help them, not just to find Osama Bin Laden." Rashid said that to ignore this sentiment is to reject Afghanistan's sense of national pride and dignity. Rashid acknowledged that a great deal has improved with the new administration, noting the efforts of President Obama's international outreach, but he cautioned: "It is very important that the new strategy of the Obama Administration doesn't get hung up on the chase of Osama, but rather the rebuilding of the nation." These efforts by the Obama presidency in the region has led Rashid to believe that "for the first time" the US is heading in the "right direction" regarding Afghanistan by implementing what should have been done in 2001. He said the country now finds itself "in the midst of an insurgency and with much resentment against the US." So, just what do the Afghans want from America? Rashid said the most important factor to remember is that "when you go to Afghanistan, remember they really want a minimalist state, like they had before the Soviet invasion in 1979. They had a central government able to affect decisions in the provinces." He outlined a series of basic needs: "They want to rebuild the country, they want security, education, health care and women's' rights" — but this, he cautioned, "must be done slowly." "You don't have to build a Sweden or Switzerland, or even an Iraq or a Pakistan; the Afghans just want a basic state that functions." He said the country needs to be subsidized, "They need investment in agriculture. Bush only started this during his last year in office, and this would help everything from agriculture to poppy eradication." Rashid pointed out that even Kabul, the nation's capital, does not have reliable electricity and power. "Seven years after the US intervention. What does that say about US strength and intentions?" The country needs a functioning economy to provide jobs, he said, noting the large number of young, unemployed youths. "They need an indigenous economy." Lastly, the Afghanis want a regional policy; "they want the interference of outside powers to stop. Only the US can do that, and it must become an intrinsic party of their Afghani policy," said Rashid, whose books include 'Taleban,' and 'Jihad – Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia,' and 'Descent in Chaos: US Policy and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia." "Ninety percent of the Afghans may dislike the US because they feel you betrayed them; however, for them to rebuild their infrastructure, they know that depends on you," he said. Rashid, the first journalist to address the UN General Assembly and NATO ambassadors, was also very critical of USAID in the region, calling it "next to useless." As a child, he said "USAID was prevalent in Pakistan – with engineers, dam builders, agriculturalists, teachers, etc. Today USAID is full of check writers and expensively-paid contractors. There's been tremendous waste, and there must be a more transparent and effective aid-giving process." He also chastised the US for its involvement in Pakistan. "The US has given $11.6 billion to Pakistan, 80 percent of that went to the military, and much of that was used in armaments against India. Even worse, there was no scrutiny by US or Congress. The Pakistani military regime is not accountable to anyone, not even the Pakistan government. "This should never happen again. Transparency about what is going on in the country is absolutely essential." America's presence in the area during the last seven years has not played well in Pakistan, said Rashid. "There is now an enormous anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, which is seen as backing a military dictatorship and not a democratic government." Pakistan is a parliamentary democracy, said Rashid. "The country has seen a slow, steady erosion of democracy under Musharraf, which was completely unnoticed by the Bush Administration. He credited the US military with having "a better sense of what's going on." Pakistan now has "a powerful army, and a weak civilian government. You have a fragmented leadership of military and civilians who don't want to take on the insurgents and terrorists." He said the Pakistanis want a democratic government. "There is a sense that, at every stage, the US has always favored military rule there, as it's easier to work with than a complicated democracy." But the Pakistani people want democracy, and they want the US to support their democracy. "Education should be a national security imperative; we should be changing the madrasas, not fighting India. This change of thinking cannot come overnight, but it must start." He called on the "American people; Congress and the military will begin this policy and not allow a U-turn."