2 min cheat sheet: The war in Afghanistan

Did you know the war in Afghanistan has been going on longer than World War 1, World War 2 and Vietnam? I don’t for a moment want to be flip about Afghanistan or any war by suggesting you can understand it in 2 minutes. But like so many complex stories in the news, it sometimes feels like the media never explains the basics. And you can feel stupid for asking. That’s the thinking behind the MM Cheat-Sheets.

MM Contributor Julie Cowdroy reports……

Five soldiers over the past two weeks have lost their lives in Afghanistan, bringing the number of Australian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan to a total of 16. The faces of these men with their families reminds us of the reality of this war that has now been going on for nearly a decade. Australia still has some 1500 troops there. So it is natural that everyone wants to know why are we even there?

WHY DID WE GO THERE?

• On October 2001, the US led a 47 nation strong coalition including Australia, to invade Afghanistan in response to September 11, 2001
• The goal was to capture Osama bin Laden and key al Qa’ida leaders, as well as oust the Taliban who was the ruling government who were protecting al Qa’ida.
• The Taliban regime was toppled, and a new government of Afghan leaders was chosen and installed by the US with Hamid Karzai as President
• The Taliban has since regrouped and is a very strong insurgency force in Afghanistan
• Although al Qa’ida does not have a very strong representation in Afghanistan anymore, some believe that if Coalition troops withdraw, al Qa’ida would return to train there again
• The nature of the war is now to ensure the Taliban do not resume control of Afghanistan and return to a place where al Qa’ida can train extremists

32 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS WAR

• 1979 – 1989: Soviet occupation. Millions died or became refugees. The US trained extremists such as Osama bin Laden to fight the Soviets.
• 1992 – 1996: Civil War. Terrible atrocities against women were committed by warlords, some of who now sit in the Afghan parliament
• 1996 – 2001: Rule by the Taliban. Beatings, imprisonments, lashings, beheadings, torture and executions were commonplace if extreme Muslim laws were disobeyed. Women were greatly oppressed. They had to travel with Mahram (a son, husband or brother) and weren’t allowed out after 6pm. Girls weren’t allowed to attend school.
• 2001 – Present: US/NATO occupation. Taliban insurgency

A NOTE ON AL QA’IDA

al Qa’ida is a global terrorist network who subscribe to the Takfiri ideology. Takfirism is considered heresy according to Muslim scholars and has been officially outlawed. Takfirism holds that Muslims whose beliefs differ from the takfiri’s are infidels who must be killed.

 

THE SITUATION TODAY

Nine years on the Karzai government is not effectively governing the nation. al Qa’ida only currently have a tiny group left in Afghanistan, with their main training bases in places like Sudan, Somalia and Pakistan.

The Taliban, have regrouped and are a strong insurgency force in Afghanistan, gaining more power everyday day. There are complex tribal relationships in Afghanistan that have not been researched or considered properly during this war. For instance, the Taliban mainly recruit disgruntled Pashtuns, an ethnic group who claim an area between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Experts say Pashtuns desire to break up Afghanistan and Pakistan and create a greater “Pashtunistan.”

In order to bring stability, the Karzai government must effectively manage Afghanistan’s 40,020 villages. They are failing at this. There is a power vacuum, which creates room for the Taliban. Only a very small number of people are fiercely loyal to the Taliban, with most of their numbers joining because they are disillusioned Pashtuns, impoverished, avenging the death of relatives who have been killed by Coalition, or bored youth. Afghans simply want peace, security and prosperity and will swing to support the side that appears to meet their needs and align with their group identity. Unfortunately, up until now, the Karzai government have not given them a better option. Karzai is souring towards the US and wants to negotiate with the Taliban. Pakistan (historically an ally of the US) are using the weakness of the US effort to pursue a partnership with President Karzai. This comes at the same time a new report claims that the intelligence agency of the Pakistani government are funding and training the Taliban for it’s own political purposes.

THE CASE TO STAY

It is now realised that this war cannot be about defeating the Taliban who have secured up to 70% of the country. The focus of the mission is to build a robust Afghan state that is strong enough to handle the problem of the Taliban and not become a safe haven for al Qa’ida again. Therefore the strategy changed in 2009 to be a counterinsurgency approach. This means the solution is not just a military one, but aims to include strong civil society organisations as well as effective political structures. This is a long term strategy that, in order to be effective, could take up to another 15-20 years, according to military experts. Australia has just announced it will continue to train the Afghan National Army for an estimated 2-4 years, as part of this new counterinsurgency strategy. Pakistan will increasingly become the focus, especially after the release of the new report showing strong links between the Taliban and Pakistan.

 

THE CASE TO LEAVE

Many Afghans want the foreign occupation to end. They believe the rebuilding of the nation can only happen from the ground up and not by a large-scale military intervention that continues to kill innocent civilians as this war has done. Rather, the intervention that is needed is humanitarian assistance. Many democratically minded Afghans run effective organisations, but Western money never reaches them.  Most international aid is badly managed and ends up in the hands of corrupt Afghan officials. The US military budget for this war is nearly four times the amount of the State Department’s diplomatic budget. More money should be spent on diplomacy and effective aid that provides things like education, health services, roads, shelter and food. The number of people who join extremist causes such as al Qa’ida and the Taliban diminish greatly when there is economic stability as well as strong civil society organisations.

WHAT DO AUSTRALIANS THINK?

• The Government and the Coalition agree to keep Australia’s 1500 troops in Afghanistan for at least the next 2-4 years
• The leader of the Greens, Bob Brown is calling for withdrawal of Australian troops and for more open public debate
• 61% of Australians want Australian troops to withdraw

 

Some realities

• Over 1,000 children were killed by aerial bombings, night raids, suicide bombs and landmines in 2009
• Girls are regularly burnt by acid attacks on the way to school
• Around 160,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are in Afghanistan, more than half are children who are vulnerable to trafficking and sexual violence
• Children are involved in suicide bombing and armed groups
• 1 mother dies giving birth in Afghanistan every 29 minutes
• 2 pregnant women died in a night raid in February and it was allegedly covered up
• IEDs and mines kill and maim civilians and troops
• The US has dropped more bombs on Afghanistan than Iraq
• Russia and China are competing with the US for control of energy resources in the Middle East region
• China, Iran, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Russia have peddled arms and weapons to warlords
• Afghanistan has the largest opium trade in the world
• Earlier this month, it was announced that Afghanistan is sitting on $1trillion worth of minerals