Posted on 12/07/2004 7:35:38 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Yesterday was a proud and hopeful day for Afghanistan. After centuries of monarchy, foreign occupation, civil war and Taliban tyranny, Hamid Karzai was inaugurated as the country's first democratically elected president. Washington, which played a vital role in this welcome transition, sent a high-level delegation, led by Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. But the biggest credit goes to the Afghan people, who braved long lines and threats of Taliban terror in October to have a say in their political future.
But their hopes won't be fulfilled until Afghanistan has an elected parliament as well. Parliamentary elections, which were originally supposed to be held at the same time as the presidential vote, have repeatedly been postponed. They have now been set for next April, but keeping to that timetable will require continued American efforts, increased military help from NATO and strong support from the United Nations. The courage and commitment already shown by Afghan voters deserve no less.
Parliamentary elections, which will require campaigning throughout the country, will be a tougher challenge than the presidential contest, when Mr. Karzai rarely ventured beyond Kabul. But the payoff would be great: replacing armed rivalries among Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras with negotiations by elected representatives would strike a major blow against warlords and fanatics.
Reducing the warlords' power would also require denying them the enormous revenues from drug trafficking. Opium poppy cultivation, which had been sharply cut back under the Taliban, has rebounded strongly since Mullah Muhammad Omar and his associates were driven from power in 2001. This has understandably frustrated Washington. But it would be a mistake to carry out such drastic and unpopular countermeasures as aerial fumigation during the run-up to the parliamentary elections. It would be far better to press the newly elected parliament to adopt strong and effective policies against poppy cultivation and drug trafficking.
The Bush administration can make a further contribution to election security by continuing to pressure Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to restrain attacks by the Taliban. The international security force led by NATO should extend its operations throughout Afghanistan and make a more energetic effort to disarm and demobilize private militias. And despite the dangers demonstrated by the recent kidnappings of United Nations election workers, the U.N. needs to venture more widely outside Kabul, showing the same determined courage that Afghan voters did in October.
oh good...I see the "quagmire" publication is still peeing in the punch bowl...
Who's drinking?
A dark cloud around every silver lining.
A dark cloud around every silver lining.
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