Some random thoughts and perspectives conglomerated together about an anniversary of importance.
Afghanistan may be thought as a backwater country with little importance, but that's not entirely true. It does have some strategic value. In the old days it was a crossroads into southeast Asia. To this day, it can still exhibit some control in that region. There are some interests in making oil pipelines and it is in the back yards of Russia and China (also serving as a buffer country). Mining of minerals is already taking place, and it is believed to have precious minerals and stones. There is also believed to be some significant petroleum deposits in the north, but that isn't fully known yet without the exploration.
What Afghanistan has and where it is really is isn't the main issue right now. It's who's there and why they are fighting is the problem. Afghanistan has a very long history of conflict, and the Taliban is just the latest incarnation of it stemming from the Soviet 1990's conflict. The US really dropped the ball for nation rebuilding, so the Taliban picked it up and united the warlord factions under strict rule. If the Taliban stopped there, we wouldn't care, but they went too far and started supporting radical Islam. Al Qeada found sanctuary, grew, and established close ties with the Taliban. They started exporting their terrorism in the name of religion, and the rest of the world had to take notice. Disappointingly, a notable part of the Islamic world seems to have either tolerated, embraced, or celebrated this.
Here's where I have my first problem. If Islam claims to be a peaceful religion, why can't we see that? I seriously doubt that so many Muslims agree with radical Islam. Where are those people and why can't they declare a jihad against those perverting their own religion? This should be an internal matter between them not getting outsiders involved. It's not enough to just passively talk about it in today's world. Stand out and do something. If you're one of those already doing that, pat yourself on the back and don't stop. You need to be seen more.
Here's where I have my second problem. If our politicians really wanted the Afghanistan war to be over, it would have been so by now. It's disrespectful to those serving and killed there. It's disrespectful to the Afghan people who have to live through it. It's disrespectful to the tax payers funding all of this. If unchained, the American military is more than capable of crushing the insurgents and terrorists in a timely fashion. In an opinion poll, the Afghan people prefer NATO forces being around (even if they are outsiders) over the brutality of the Taliban. I don't think we should bail out of Afghanistan, but I don't think we should be floundering around like we have been. We need to fight to win.
The insurgents and people in that part of the world often share a different mentality than we do here. They aren't tree hugging hippies hoping to change the world through love. They want to kick out and kill all the infidels and have clearly stated this multiple times. Under radical Islam, that supposedly gets the victims into heaven, but that's a side argument. People like this have to be hit strategically hard. They only respect force and power. Only the loser or weaker opponent comes to the negotiating table to talk about their feelings. Read into that.
What does the Taliban stand for? What would happen if we just pulled out and quit? They've faced this situation once before with the Soviets, and they will repeat history again if given the chance.
If we just pull out, the Taliban will spin the media like there is no tomorrow. They already do this for their supporters. Things will be worse than before. They will rebuild in their safe haven, recruit as many as possible, and attack the infidels again. Remember that the Taliban has close ties with al Qeada and that al Qaeda endorses much of what the Taliban believes in.
The Taliban has a documented history of doing many bad things. The Taliban doesn't allow debate on their doctrine. What they say somehow gets incorporated into Sharia law. Those who question it get severely punished. Democratic elections were deemed to be in conflict with Sharia law, so the election process was thrown out. The Taliban has declared many Muslims to be non-Muslims over relatively minor things. Those groups get discriminated against (at best). Initially the Taliban wiped out most of the opium production in Afghanistan, but post 2001, they are using opium to fund the fight and their cause. Doesn't that go against the Quran? The Taliban has been known to fight among civilians and use them as shields. They don't care about those lives. They just spin the reports saying American troops killed the innocents and try to recruit even more. This is not an honorable way to fight.
Here's where I have my third problem: American feminists. I don't include all in my argument, but I include most. Why? The Taliban brutalizes women. This is a very ancient concept and practice. Domination over women shows manhood. Women aren't much more than property. Why aren't the women's support groups speaking out about all this? Most feminist groups only seem to support domestic liberal causes. Is this fair? The women over seas are just as much female as the women here. There were the bra burnings of the 1960's. Why can't the feminists unite and support burqa burnings now? The messed up thing is that the old Islamic law gave women more rights than the Taliban manipulation does now.
How does the Taliban Sharia law treat women? The core answer is with segregation and oppression. Apparently women are the root of all sexual evil and must be fully covered all the time when out. This includes being seen through a window of the home (which are often painted or frosted because of that). Women are not allowed out unless they are escorted by a male family member. Women must take a separate bus from the men. Since women can't get out much, most marriages are arranged whether there is love there or not. This often leads to long term domestic violence. There are high rates of female depression since being trapped at home most of the time isn't much different than a jail. Cross gender contact is strictly taboo. This leads to medical problems as there are few women doctors in the Taliban. Women cannot be treated by male doctors unless escorted by a male family member (and this treatment is limited). Some hospitals have a totally segregated wing for women only. Some hospitals don't allow women at all. The Taliban deny women an education if they are over 8 years old. Underground schools have popped up, but the education isn't complete and the penalties are severe if caught. This makes it impossible for the next generation of women to become doctors and OBGYN's (there are high "problem" rates because of this). The Taliban banned women from the work force. This closed many schools and is extremely hard on widows. The usual penalty if a woman breaks Sharia law is public flogging and sometimes execution. A spectacle is usually made to make an example for the other women. Much more detail on this subject can be found with an Internet search. If you're a woman, you should be screaming at all this by now.
How do we fix Afghanistan for the long term? Simple. We win the war and help the country rebuild into something better.
Here's where I have my fourth problem list. We go into a country and defeat the enemy, but we have poor (if any) rebuilding plans for afterwards. This makes it very easy for the enemy to come back and nullify the initial win. This also brings animosity among the residents since we just make a mess then leave it to them to clean up.
The upper government framework took too long to establish. I define this as the major pieces of government (making a constitution) and not the day to day minor pieces. This includes the legislative, executive, and judicial branches set up in such a way that they have checks and balances and are fair for those involved. The upper level constitution gets something solid, definite, and permanent in place fast to set up a framework to create and vote on other laws to iron out the details that aren't appropriate at the constitution level. These lower laws may change as the circumstances change, but the constitution should not.
Where are the schools? This should be one of the first things established. Education brings people out of poverty. With education the residents can build infrastructure and a nation. Include education of high skills but also education of local skills and traditions (history, agriculture, livestock, craft skills) to maintain some type of cultural identity and to help promote cultural unity. Education can be used to stop bad ideology (like what started the war to begin with). People of high education don't form/join gangs. The children of the first generation of educated often get an even better education and bring that country into a regional power. This is just a common historical loop.
Where is the infrastructure? After enough people are trained what to do, infrastructure should be right behind education. Roads connect a country. Rapid transit shares other parts of the culture and breaks down long term barriers (as does electronic communications). Clean water helps prevent disease and facilitates agriculture and livestock. Electricity brings climate control for hot summers and freezing winters. Electronic communications such as radio and TV help enforce a common language and national identity.
Where are the police and military? This should be right behind education (or integrated as a part of it) and should consist of locals since it is their country and they know themselves and the land the best. Even starting with uneducated local volunteers, it shouldn't take more than 2 years of boot camp style training to get them into a usable force at the basic level. From there they continue on-the-job style training so they can both work and improve their skills at the same time (hopefully many would go on to officer levels). This allows us to send most of our ground troops home, for the locals to fight their own fight, and for us to not be seen as an occupying military force. This also keeps many locals employed, out of trouble, and provides a launching platform if they decide on a different career later on (similar to our 4 year military programs).
Where is the internal affairs division? From what I hear on the news, corruption is a real problem in the Afghan government. Corruption holds back progress, wastes time, and wastes money. For a country trying to get back on its feet, it is one of the worst diseases. There needs to be an internal policing force that basically says: "You do what you say your were going to do, or we put you in jail and replace you with someone who can". Maybe I should also point the finger at American politicians playing their own stupid games.
Finishing up the rebuilding argument, we need to set the locals up so they can take responsibility for rebuilding and have some pride in what they accomplished. Make them want it and the positive results, or it will never happen. Hand holding is fine in the beginning, but handing them everything on a silver platter just won't do.
So will things really be OK in Afghanistan in the end? Think about it. If things are done right, yes. We could have had a hand in building a major regional power. If things are done wrong, they will go back to the ways of before and there will be problems.
If you agree or not with the war, at least support our people over there fighting and dying. Those people are in harsh conditions and often feel isolated. Remember their families, too.
If you don't want any more war, be sure to tell that to the Taliban and al Qeada. If it's so politically incorrect to kill those people, why is it so politically correct to let them kill us and the locals?
Afghanistan is finally breaking out of its shackles. Yes, it should have been a lot faster, it may not be perfect, but it is at least moving in the right direction in a geographical region known for instability. To give up now would be denigrating to those who have believed in, fought, and died for it.