Afghanistan: Sliding into Anarchy [Archives:2002/04/Law & Diplomacy]

By Kamran Shafi
Barely one month after the complete rout of the Taliban, Afghanistan is once again descending into complete anarchy, its various warlords and ‘commanders’ becoming bolder with each new (looted) Kalashnikov that is added to their armories; with every new (stolen) Toyota Land-Cruiser that is added to their motor vehicle fleets. Highway robbery is back in vogue, with gunmen owing allegiance to local tribal chiefs stopping buses and trucks and demanding a tax for crossing the areas under their control. The so-called ‘Governor’ of Jalalabad leads most of the rest by exacting a tax from every foreign hotel guest, every taxi passenger, mostly reporters and supporting crew of the international media; and by stealing food donated by international aid agencies and NGOs which is then sold quite brazenly in the open market. Exactly according to script.
This was bound to happen, this is Afghanistan. This is exactly what happened after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan and the government of former President Rabbani took over Kabul and the main cities, and when many thousands of innocent Afghans, lay people, were killed in the crossfire of the ensuing strife. But, whilst the innocent are once again at risk, there is an important difference between then and now. Where Rabbani’s government was known to be corrupt and inept, and which had its own ethnic feuds to settle with its erstwhile partners in the Jihad against the Soviet Union, this time around this lawlessness is taking place in the full view of the Great Powers which have cobbled together the present dispensation under the aegis of the United Nations. This anarchy is being observed first hand by American Special Forces who are present on the ground.
What then, of the peacekeepers in Kabul? How can they keep the peace so that some semblance of normalcy returns to the war-ravaged country, when armed bandits roam the land? How will any of the promised billions of dollars of development aid reach the poor who have lost their all, when even food aid is not allowed to reach the starving amongst their number?
This is an alarming situation, which, if left unchecked, will only get worse. The militias and their chiefs will get bolder with every passing day, and in direct proportion to the increase in their firepower and wealth, and the clout that comes with it. Importantly, because these militias are not well-disciplined bodies of men, there is every reason to fear the spawning of offshoots ? junior commanders, flush with money and arms going off to set up their own armed bands and carving out their own little fiefs. Importantly, the peacekeeping force itself is at great risk with so many weapons in the wrong hands. Quite obviously, immediate and drastic measures are called for.
First, the various militias in Afghanistan – and there are as many as there are ethnic groups, by one count 15; and tribes and sub-tribes which number in the hundreds – have to be disarmed, with aid delivery being tied to the speed of the disarmament. The government of Hamid Karzai has to be told to take bold steps to apply its writ over all of the country, backed by the threatened use of massive military force by the allies. These selfsame gunmen who now loot and plunder at the behest of their local commanders could be put into uniform, and organized into a new and disciplined Afghan Army under the command and control of the Government of Afghanistan. Second, but not least, the peacekeeping force has to show its presence in the other cities of Afghanistan.
A tall order, a very tall order, but one that has to be filled if the hapless people of Afghanistan are not once again to be abandoned to their fate. The Great Powers, particularly the US, must never forget that the Taliban were born in the vacuum that was left behind when they hastily departed Afghanistan after their ends were met in 1989; that the Taliban took over that country in just the sort of mayhem we see there today. The world must never forget the final result of that myopia ? the sad and earth-shaking events that unfolded on 9/11.

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