From the issue dated September 28, 2001
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An Abandoned AfghanistanBy THOMAS E. GOUTTIERRE
We were no longer involved in the events of Afghanistan that could have led the Afghan people to reconstruct their social structure, social fabric, infrastructure, and economy. It was a country that needed a Marshall Plan of reconstruction, because it looked very much like the financial district in New York City today, or Berlin after World War II. It's lost millions of people, and almost all of its trained talent. It has suffered probably the greatest percentage per capita of brain drain in almost any country's history. Extreme forces filled the vacuum that was left when we abandoned Afghanistan. And now we are having to deal with those extreme forces. The Taliban want to take over the country; Osama bin Laden wants to use the country for his agenda; and the Pakistanis want to use the country for their agenda. They're all traveling parallel tracks, and they're helping each other. Bin Laden's objective is religious; the Pakistanis', political and commercial; and the Taliban's, survival. We have not had a good long-term policy relating to Central Asia, South Asia, and Afghanistan. Our government didn't understand how to effectively work with the competing Afghan resistance parties after the Russians left. The last time we had a real policy concerning Afghanistan was under former Secretary of State George Schultz. James Baker did not have one, nor did Warren Christopher, nor did Madeleine Albright. We were waiting to see if Colin Powell would, but all that's been pre-empted. Now we have a policy, but it's been forced upon us by war. A lot of Afghans would be even happier than we to see the removal of the Taliban, Osama bin Laden, and the Pakistanis from their soil. The Taliban do not represent the average Afghan. If we have to go into Afghanistan, we need to remember that there are many there who would like to cooperate with us, with whom we could work in the future, so that we could help preclude a repetition of these circumstances. Thomas E. Gouttierre is dean of international studies and programs and director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. http://chronicle.com Section: The Chronicle Review Page: B6
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Copyright © 2001 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
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Reflections on the Fractured Landscape |
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