RIGHTING THE AFGHAN WRONGS

Five years ago, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan fled along with its
Arab terrorist allies in the US invasion that followed the Sept 11,
2001 attacks on the United States. Since then, the country has failed
to establish a decent, functioning government. Despite much aid and
strong support from the United Nations and the world, Afghanistan is
in desperate trouble. The viable economy consists almost entirely of
opium production and drug trafficking. Terrorism, particularly
suicide bombers, threatens life everywhere. The Taliban army, routed
but not disintegrated in 2001, has regrouped and remains a deadly
military threat. There are open fears in Afghanistan that the Taliban
rebels pose an actual threat to central power. The commander of Nato
forces, British Gen David Richards, believes the Kabul government and
international supporters have as little as six months before the
Taliban begin to make major gains. The extremists have survived by
mounting tough military resistance in the Afghan mountains. But, says
Gen Richards and his Nato staff, the Afghan people are beginning to
miss the social order and security of the Taliban days more than they
appreciate their current freedom. The Afghanistan government, the
United Nations and Nato must solve three major problems if they are
to prevent failure.

The first is that President Hamid Karzai and his government in Kabul
have failed to lead. Mr Karzai, ministers and civil servants all have
become bogged down in bureaucracy and indecision. There is little
obvious governance, massive corruption, and the drug trade has grown
out of control. Instead of dealing forthrightly with regional
warlords - making deals where possible, dealing decisively where
necessary - Mr Karzai has created an administration that is neither
willing nor able to confront the serious problems of the country. The
president has a point when he blames niggardly resources and aid, but
not much of one. Example: On numerous occasions, Thailand offered to
help with anti-opium crop-replacement expertise, while Kabul dithered
and wavered.

That brings up the second point. Afghanistan produces almost all the
world's supply of opium meant for the traffickers of heroin. Use of
this dangerous, killer drug is growing again, exactly because of the
increased availability. Afghans are opposed to using herbicide to
kill the opium crops, mainly for the irrational, wartime fear of
chemicals dropped from airplanes. The government has vacillated on
crop substitution as heavily armed, influential gangs and warlords
have taken over the drug trade. Even farmers who curse drugs and want
clean options are enslaved by the drug gangs, forced by poverty and
lack of opportunity to grow opium. The Taliban, as they have been
since their inception, are the chief drug traffickers.

Finally, there is the role of Pakistan in Afghanistan's troubles.
Islamabad and President Pervez Musharraf long ago began harsh
crackdowns and arrests of al-Qaeda, both the Arab invaders and their
home-grown supporters. But they have benignly accepted the Taliban -
originally created and fed by the Pakistan army's Directorate for
Inter-Services Intelligence. This has created the huge and ultimately
unfriendly problem for Afghanistan of providing safe haven and a
supply route for the Taliban. Pakistan also should consider the part
its policy plays in worsening the narcotics problem which threatens,
literally, to overwhelm Afghanistan.

There remains an immense amount of world goodwill for Afghanistan.
The nation has been torn by wars and civil wars without cease since
1979. Western forces will not remain forever, nor will Afghans allow
them. But neither the United Nations nor the Afghanistan government
has marshalled or exploited the available aid. A chaotic, undeveloped
Afghanistan is unacceptable in today's world. A return to the abusive
Taliban regime is unthinkable, even if that group were not directly
tied to international terrorism. The international community needs to
step up the efforts to move Afghanistan forward, mount a serious
effort against the drug traffickers at all levels, and help the Kabul
regime become an effective government.