An Idea for Success in Afghanistan
Steven VanDeLaarschot
Undergraduate/Political Science
We are all familiar with the war in Afghanistan and the messy nature of the war there. It seems like no matter what America and its allies do there are always more in Afghanistan who are willing to fight us. There is constant debate about whether sending more troops is a good idea or not and what those troops should be doing while in Afghanistan, as well as the calls for our soldiers to be brought back home.
Despite being in Afghanistan for eight years, our goals have not yet been accomplished. A large reason for this is the fact that the Bush administration took the focus off of Afghanistan and shifted it to Iraq, which has caused many problems for America to deal with that it did not need. Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done about the past and we must work with the world as it is. Although I would like to say that President Obama is doing a better job than Bush and making progress, I have to admit that there is a lot of work still to be done regardless of whether or not Obama has improved the situation in Afghanistan.
As I have listened to the news and the discussions of experts in regard to what the correct course of action in Afghanistan is, I was struck with an idea that I had not heard at all from any experts or pundits. To be perfectly honest, the idea is not exclusively mine but one thought up by Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister of Pakistan and the first female leader of a Muslim nation. Bhutto looked at the economic problems of the Middle East, as well as the hatred for the West seen in the Muslim world, and thought hard on how there might be improvement. For inspiration she looked to history, “The conditions, threats, and opportunities that confronted Europe at the end of World War II can give us guidance on how to intelligently and effectively address the current situation we find ourselves in with respect to Islam and the West.” 2
Specifically, Bhutto was thinking of the Marshall Plan. In the words of Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State, “The Marshall Plan was a classic example of 'doing well by doing good'; Europe was revitalized, and the United States benefited from a strong and prosperous West European partner.”1 Benazir Bhutto wanted a new Marshall Plan that could be applied to the Muslim world so that the Middle East could be strong and prosperous again as it had been in the past. With aid coming from the most developed nations to the Middle East, it would ease tensions and create good feelings as lives improved. Bhutto understood that “When ordinary people in a country identify assistance improving their lives and the lives of their children, they bond with that source of aid.”2 The former prime minister of Pakistan wanted to see “specific and tangible people-to-people projects that will directly improve the quality of life, in the form of humanitarian aid from the West.” 2
Now, admittedly, the circumstances in Afghanistan are different than those of Europe after World War II, specifically and most obviously the fact that there is still war in Afghanistan. But I do not think that the war will make it impossible to improve the lives of Afghan citizens, in fact a new Marshall Plan could be a great tool for counterinsurgency and nation-building. What American soldiers can do is to secure areas of Afghanistan from the Taliban, principally the major population centers like Kabul and Kandahar, to allow for stability and growth. With areas secured from the Taliban money can flow in to rebuild and improve lives, doing this in the greatest centers of population allows for the greatest possible impact as the most lives possible are helped by American effort.
By making life better for the Afghani people they will not see American and NATO soldiers as occupiers but as defenders and support will be peeled away from the Taliban. If the Taliban continues to promise only their fundamentalist view of Islam for all of Afghanistan while America and NATO improve the lives of as many Afghan citizens as possible, the Afghan citizens will choose the life shown to them by the West.
To get to some specifics of Bhutto's idea, she proposed “grain, schoolbooks, medicines, writing materials, and inexpensive shoes … programs that deliver clean drinking water, provide rudimentary public housing, and build one-room rural schools.”2 These are things that we take for granted but could make a big difference in our efforts to gain the support of the Afghani people. The Taliban, during their rule of Afghanistan, enforced a brand of Islam so severe that music and television were banned. Their mullahs teach that suicide bombing is a guaranteed way to get to heaven and it is much easier to convince people who have horrible lives. If we improve the lives of Afghan citizens and give them a good education they will be less willing to listen to groups like the Taliban.
Something that cannot be left out is the widespread growth of opium within Afghanistan, many Afghan farmers rely on the growth of opium for money. The farmers themselves are not members of the Taliban or drug dealers, they grow opium simply because it makes them money and they are poor. This provides funding for the Taliban as the drugs go out into the world. This widespread opium trade must be stamped out and the fields of opium poppies destroyed, but it cannot be left there. After destroying the poppy fields, American forces must help the farmers rebuild by helping him with new crops. Some sort of legitimate crop must be given to the farmers and planted in the place of the destroyed poppy fields.
It is understandable that many Americans do not want to see a seemingly endless war in Afghanistan and our government providing the money for nation-building for years to come, especially when our economy is having so much trouble. But the price of rebuilding Afghanistan from the ravages of decades of war is nothing compared to the cost of war itself. America can't just go in, blow up the bad guys, and leave, it is incredibly expensive and solves nothing. After funding the Afghan resistance to the Soviet invasion, America left Afghanistan to its own devices and the Taliban came to power. We have to stick around and make sure Afghanistan won't be our enemy again and the best way to do that is to rebuild Afghanistan like we did for Western Europe after World War II.
Germany and Japan are two of America's closest allies and, with time, if America does it right Afghanistan could be as well. That is a bit of a stretch, I will admit, but the potential is there. In addition, if America leaves Afghanistan better than it was when we entered, our actions will leave a good impression within the entire Middle East. Going to war like this should carry a commitment in this age of terrorism, America cannot just go in and ruin a country, doing so will breed hatred and future enemies. If America destroys a country it should help rebuild that country.
Sources:
1: Albright, Madeleine. The Mighty and The Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.
2: Bhutto, Benazir. Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008.