Hazara Nation

TDN
Though Afghanistan has come a long way from its terrible past, the Afghan National Army and NATO still face a fierce insurgency from the Al-Qaeda supported Taliban

A total of around 52,700 international troops are currently taking part in the war and reconstruction operations in Afghanistan under the umbrella of the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF. In August 2003, NATO took command of the ISAF and thus it became the first NATO engagement outside of Europe. At present the international forces operate in Afghanistan under the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The mission in Afghanistan, contrary to the war in Iraq, is truly international in nature. A total of 40 nations from across the world contribute troops to the ISAF. Turkey is one among those countries. The United States and United Kingdom contribute the largest numbers, 23,550 and 8,530 respectively. Germany contributes 3,370, Canada 2,500, Italy 2,350, Netherlands 1,770 and Turkey 760. Among the others are Spain, Australia, Belgium, Norway and France. Those that do not contribute troops are supporting the operations politically and many of them contribute economically to the re-construction of Afghanistan. India, among others, is one such country.

The globalized world:

Gone are the days when events in a country thousands of miles away had little bearing on the security of other countries. In today's globalized world, the international community cannot afford to stay detached from weak and failing states. Afghanistan is a classical case in point. The channels of globalization do carry the negative consequences of the failed states to the doorsteps of the developed world.

In 1979, the then USSR troops entered Afghanistan and installed a communist regime in that impoverished country. Millions of Afghans fled to Pakistan and Iran and started armed resistance against the Soviets with the help of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other like-minded countries. The United States supplied weapons to the resistant groups based in Pakistan. The money and weapons were channeled through the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan. Training camps were established for these resistance groups on Pakistan's territory. Thousands of Afghans sacrificed their lives in the U.S. war on communism. Eventually the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan in 1988. The defeat in Afghanistan was one of the factors in the collapse of the USSR.

When the strategic goals of the United States were met in that part of the world, it left the war-ravaged country to single-handedly deal with the post-war problems, without grasping the potential of that country to turn into a haven for international terrorism and drug-dealers. The 10 years of war had destroyed its already minimal infrastructure, its capital Kabul was devastated and its economy was in shatters. The armed groups, constituted and armed by the United States and its allies for the purpose of fighting the Soviets, turned against each other. Afghanistan plunged into a devastating civil war that consumed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Afghan men, women and children.

The coming of the Taliban:

In the mid-1990s another force emerged soon to be known as the �Taliban,� or Religious Students. With the help of Pakistan, the group achieved quick victories against the warlords. By 1996, the Taliban had entered Kabul. The stories of the Taliban are famous. They banned female education, stoned to death many men and women for �adultery,� compelled the people to grow beards, amputated people's hands and legs for minor theft and destroyed the historic Buddhas in the city of Bamyan.

Though they were indulging in all kinds of human rights violations, the international community belatedly made its reservations known when the world came to know that Osama Bin Laden had moved from Sudan to Afghanistan. The United States put all kinds of pressure on the Taliban to hand over Osama Bin Laden, but the Taliban refused saying that the Sheikh was their �guest.�

And then came the unfortunate events of 9/11. It was established that Osama's Al-Qaeda was involved in the attacks. The United States wanted Bin Laden to be handed over. Upon refusal, the United States moved in concert with its allies across the world, against the Taliban. It was a matter of days that the Taliban were on the run and an internationally mandated government under President Hamid Karzai was seated in Kabul.

The international community is now fighting in Afghanistan for a cause. This should have been done immediately after the withdrawal of the Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1988. In that case Afghanistan would never have become a breeding ground for terrorists and the 9/11 would perhaps never have happened. But as is said, better done later than never, the mission in Afghanistan needs to be pursued whole-heartedly and with commitment. The emergence of a stable, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan is necessary for a durable peace in the world.

Some countries have sent their troops to Afghanistan but they would like their troops to stay in the relatively peaceful areas, resisting their dispatch to the trouble zones in the South and East where Canadian, American and British and a few others troops are chasing the terrorists. The troops of these countries incur higher casualties than their other partners. The ones less committal cite their domestic pressures in case their troops die. These governments need to engage their peoples in a dialogue and convince them on the urgency of fighting terror in Afghanistan.

War for a cause:

Failure in Afghanistan is not an option. Many say that the Afghan mission is adversely affected by the useless war of Bush in Iraq. They say that the attention needed to be focused on the war in Afghanistan, but is diverted to Iraq. I agree with that assessment. As the violence in Iraq is decreasing substantially, the United States and Britain need to divert their troops and other resources to Afghanistan. Though Afghanistan has come a long way from its terrible past, the Afghan National Army and NATO still face a fierce insurgency from the Al-Qaeda supported Taliban in the southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan.

These elements would like to pull Afghanistan back into its pre-9/11 situation so as they can plan and execute 9/11-style attacks not only in the USA, but anywhere in the world where people do not agree with their world view. This is a war for a good cause. Everybody needs to take part in the fulfillment of this cause.