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Optimism on the run in Afghanistan
December 16, 2006
What people are thinking in one of the most troubled countries in the world.
Abstract: Gabriela Perdomo - The news is not good. Afghanistan is a nation on the verge of becoming no-man's land. Amidst the daily violence and tension people are having a hard time finding some hope in the future.
Gabriela Perdomo - The news is not good. Afghanistan is a nation on the verge of becoming no-man's land. Amidst the daily violence and tension people are having a hard time finding some hope in the future. A recent poll by Charney Research and the Afghan Center for Social and Opinion Research released by ABC News and BBC News earlier this month shows a bleak picture of life in Afghanistan five years after the end of the Taliban regime.
Dec. 7, 2001, only three months after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, marked the end of a military offensive led by the United States, Britain, Canada and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries against the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan. The alliance successfully toppled the Taliban, an Islamic militant group which had forced a radical interpretation of Islamic laws in the Asian country and had provided a safe haven for the international terrorist organization al-Qaeda. The Taliban had refused to hand over to the authorities the man who had planned the attacks, Osama bin Laden, and Afghanistan was deemed a State-sponsor of terrorism.
The invasion was supposed to dismantle terrorists training camps, as well as to find bin Laden and topple the Taliban regime. Five years on, the international forces have only accomplished the latter. The Taliban are not in charge any more. An interim government was instated in late 2001 and then a democratically-elected president came to power. But the Taliban are still around. They constantly attack foreign soldiers and Afghan security forces, and recent reports show a resurgence of the Taliban in many areas of the country.
The poll, which was conducted in October, reveals Afghans are truly concerned about their current situation and that, contrary to common perception, they actually appreciate the international community's involvement in security and reconstruction projects in their soil. Afghans appear to be worried mostly about insecurity and an eventual rebirth of the Taliban, and not so much about a stalled economy and high unemployment. 57 per cent of Afghans believe the Taliban are the greatest threat to their country, 89 per cent of them disapprove of the militant group, and 84 per cent say they don't trust the Taliban at all.
Although it is reassuring to see Afghans are still satisfied with the demise of the Taliban's oppressive rule, the survey leaves no doubt that they are unhappy with the remedy that followed their departure. In their view, the government looks worse than ever. In a similar poll conducted a year ago, 80 per cent of Afghans deemed the government as good or excellent; this time the number plummeted to 64 per cent. Afghanistan's elected president, Hamid Karzai, came to power in 2004 and shares the bad ratings of his government. A year ago, his popularity was at 84 per cent; twelve months later, 32 per cent of Afghans rate his performance as fair or poor.
Overall, the extensive survey shows Afghans prefer their lives as they are now than under the Taliban rule. Change is welcome, but people seem frustrated by the pace at which things are evolving. 74 per cent of respondents say their lives are better now compared to the Taliban years. Although violence is a steady occurrence, another 58 per cent say security conditions and measures for the protection against crime and violence have improved.
Very few respondents say they dislike the presence of foreign troops in the country, the reconstruction projects or the fact that foreign nationals—mostly westerners—are living in a predominantly Muslim country. This is good news for NATO. The explicit support for its work signifies that the so-called "battle for hearts and minds" seems to be working well in Afghanistan. But raising frustration has to be taken seriously and more valiant efforts are required, for the sake of Afghans and for the whole world's.
There are billions of dollars invested in Afghanistan. Dozens of nations are donors of humanitarian, medical, military and monetary aid. So much attention is explained by the country's strategic location in the Middle East, its relation to the global drug trade—most of the world's heroin comes from Afghanistan—and its close ties with Islamic extremism. Afghanistan has become a common concern in international relations, moreover because of the growing tension with neighbouring Pakistan, where the Taliban are allegedly installing their training camps under the complacent look of Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf.
What the survey reveals is that the international community has won the trust of Afghans; that they want it to help sort the mess in their country—something the "Coalition of the Willing" has completely failed in achieving in Iraq. NATO cannot take this confidence for granted. It has to show better results in both security and reconstruction efforts. If it doesn't, the Taliban will be prepared to lure the disillusioned into their troops.