Assem Akram

What a New Strategy Should Have to Succeed in Afghanistan

An open letter to Barack Obama

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Mr. President,

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the occasion of your election to the Presidency, as it has been remarkable in more than one way.

Mr. President,

I would like to share here, with a great economy of words, what I view as essential on the subject of the situation in Afghanistan.

Recently, you laid out your Administration’s new strategy for Afghanistan. While I congratulate you for your willingness to bring change to the United States’ mostly unsuccessful approach of the last eight years – and not going beyond in order not to divert from my main focus here, I believe that not all the changes announced are going in the right direction and/or are sufficient to reach the results sought out – i.e. the stabilization and the normalization of the situation in Afghanistan.

Certainly, appointing a Special Envoy, increasing reconstruction/development aid money, further funding the development of the Afghan Security forces, and articulating a more firm and comprehensive policy towards Pakistan, as well as hinting at overtures to non-Al Qaeda-linked armed opposition groups, can be viewed as positive steps.

But to save Afghanistan from the current downward spiral, more radical changes and serious rethinking are needed. To witness any real improvement, I believe it is essential to state and accept that:

·         Thirty years of conflict have excessively weakened Afghanistan in all aspects and one must recognize that the temporary and strictly defined involvement of the international community is still needed to put the country back on its feet.

·         All countries and organizations involved in Afghanistan need to respect the country’s Sovereignty - not simply in words but also in deeds.

·         Any international military and political actions in Afghanistan need to be channeled though the United Nations as the only legitimate guarantor and implementer of the international community’s decisions vis-à-vis one of its members.

·         The 2001 Bonn Conference and its outcome - in the form of the current inefficient and mostly corrupt Afghan Government - have failed to deliver.

·         Without the restoration of decent security conditions throughout the country, economic, educational, democratic, or any other type of development cannot prosper.

·         Sending more foreign troops to Afghanistan is not the solution: More troops to be implanted locally will only antagonize the locals - as it will emphasize the notion of living under occupation – and, in the end, will counter-productively weaken furthermore the central Government.

·         Boosting local militias to replicate the ‘Sons of Iraq” model would be playing with fire and might end up laying the ground for a repeat of the situation in which Afghanistan fell during the 1990s and which paved the way for the rise of the Taliban.

·         Finally, it must be stated that it is the sole responsibility of Afghanistan’s Government, through its national security forces, to enforce the law upon its citizens and maintain peace within its borders. No foreign force is entitled nor should it be asked to perform this quintessential function of a State.

This is why some major steps need to be undertaken to shift the equation:

·         Fast-pacing the build-up of the Afghan Army so that it quickly reaches a minimum of 150,000, and preferably 250,000 men - a 1% security forces-to-population ratio.

·         Reorienting the mission of all US and international troops to cease all operations inside Afghanistan’s mainland to exclusively concentrate – under an ad-hoc UN mandate – their efforts on the border with Pakistan in order to hermetically close it and strictly control all transit points.

·         Requiring from Pakistan to do its part to halt cross-border militant violence and holding Islamabad accountable by resorting to a carrot-and-stick approach.

·         Through an international effort, and with the involvement of independent Afghan personalities, it is necessary to overhaul the Afghan political process to favor the creation of a new interim governing entity capable of showing independence, effectiveness and integrity - a Government that can restore confidence inside and outside of Afghanistan and that would radically transform the existing equation.

Mr. President,

Afghanistan, a country with a rich history and a people highly prizing its independence, has recently suffered tremendously from endless conflicts, equally stirred by interior and external factors. Bringing back Afghanistan to a certain normalcy and allowing it to play a constructive role in the regional and world arenas requires a concerted international effort and some serious rethinking. But nothing will be achieved without respecting the Sovereignty, territorial integrity and moral as well as physical dignity of its inhabitants.

With regards,

Assem Akram was born on September 29, 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan. He holds a Doctorate degree in History from the Sorbonne University and was active in the Resistance movement against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. He has been living in the United States since 1996 with his wife and two sons and is the author of two History books and two works of fiction.  www.assemakram.com