Posted on 01/07/2004 9:19:26 AM PST by knighthawk
The war on terror has produced a remarkable result in Afghanistan. The rule of law is coming to that often lawless and long-oppressed land in the form of a constitution that should be the envy of freethinking people across the Muslim world.
Two years after the U.S. overthrew the Taliban and routed Al Qaeda from its Afghan sanctuaries, a fractious assembly approved the founding document for a democracy that is both steeped in Islam and guided by civil law. The constitution promises equal rights to women, language rights for the country's patchwork of ethnic groups and religious tolerance.
Will it not be a wonderful day when the downtrodden people of a nearby nation follow a similar path to self-government and human rights? We speak, of course, of the Iraqis. The time is fast approaching for them to assume command of their destiny and, hopefully, stand as a beacon to the millions in that part of the world who are yoked by autocracies and fanaticism.
There's a long way to go - a slog, if you will - in both countries. Cursed by the legacy of conflict, Afghanistan lives in the Fourth World. Warlords rule outside the capital, and tribal rivalries are settled with bullets, one of the only commodities available in large supply. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein's dead-enders fight on against the U.S.' resolve to offer them a better way. They are on the wrong side of history, as proven by Afghanistan's success in writing a constitution.
An apt description.
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