AFGHANISTAN'S PERILOUS SLIDE

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell a year ago told nations willing to
donate to rebuild Afghanistan that, without sustained assistance, the
Afghans "will surely fail" to build a better future. Several months ago, a
distinguished panel concluded that the Afghan situation was getting worse -
despite support from nations like France and Germany, which opposed the
U.S. war in Iraq, and despite United Nations control of the political and
economic process. Washington's lackadaisical approach threatens to
transform Afghanistan again, at best, into a battleground for warlords
backed by outside nations and, at worst, into a base for terrorists.

The transitional government of President Hamid Karzai holds sway only in
Kabul, the capital. Warlords rule elsewhere. Bandits attack aid workers in
remote areas; ethnic Pushtuns grumble at the Tajik influence in Kabul; the
Taliban regroups in Pakistan and crosses the border to attack U.S.
soldiers; the poppy crop flourishes and gets transformed into opium and heroin.

U.S. aid officials say Karzai's government is unequipped to receive and
funnel large amounts of aid; the government, though, needs to be the
dispenser of aid to increase its authority. Surely, Washington, the World
Bank and other institutions can offer the expertise to ensure that aid to
Afghanistan is spent wisely. Granted, that supposes that the projects are
worthy, like building schools and providing farm irrigation, not a
$30-million commitment to a five-star Hyatt hotel in Kabul. Meanwhile,
Karzai's government lacks money to pay teachers, so some schools have
closed - after the U.S. paid $60 million for schools, books and teacher
training. That disconnect is appalling.

A Council on Foreign Relations task force reported in June that rebuilding
the Afghan army and the country had been "painfully slow." Despite the U.N.
role - so notably absent in Iraq - "the world thinks of Afghanistan as
America's war," it said. That's reasonable in light of the big and
justifiable U.S. military incursion in Afghanistan, triggered by the
Taliban's sheltering of Al Qaeda terrorists linked to the 9/11 attacks.

President Bush asked Congress last week to boost spending for Iraq and
Afghanistan by $87 billion in the next year. Though details were sketchy,
the administration proposed $11 billion for Afghan anti-terrorism and
military efforts, with $1.2 billion more for reconstruction. That would
help - if the money was spent wisely. The Pentagon needs to about-face and
prod NATO to send peacekeepers outside Kabul and offer intelligence and
aircraft to get them there. The United States also should immediately
double to eight the reconstruction teams that have put up buildings and
provided security in the provinces.

The international goals for Afghanistan remain admirable - an elected
government, secure borders, suffrage for women, eradication of opium
poppies and a better economy. But Washington must provide more leadership
to fulfill these aspirations. International support should have made it
easier to show greater success in rebuilding Afghanistan. The dismal
results so far raise ominous warnings for the reconstruction of Iraq.