News of secret talks with Taliban leaders broke today as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced a new international trust fund to finance the reintegration of its fighters into Afghan society – and politics. The decision came at today’s international conference in London where delegates from over 70 states and organizations met to discuss strategy for the failed state.
The initiative is part of a new effort to take the steam out of the Taliban insurgency, but some fear that the international community may be tempted to purchase security at the expense of liberty.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai told delegates that he supported efforts to reconcile elements of the Taliban.
“We share President Karzai’s belief that careful reintegration will weaken the lure of extremism and bring greater stability and security to Afghanistan,” said US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.
“Many low- and mid-level Taliban are driven to extremism more by economic opportunity or local politics than by ideology,” she said. “With the right incentives, they can become part of Afghan democracy.”
The announcement came amid breaking news that Taliban leaders – members of its leadership council, or Quetta Shura – had met secretly with the United Nations representative for Afghanistan to discuss a possible ceasefire.
The move reflects the current orthodoxy in counter-insurgency doctrine that there is no purely military solution to the conflict.
“For this military operation to be successful there has to be a follow-up in governance, in development and reconciliation”, Prof. Michael Clarke, a director of the UK’s Royal United Services Institute, told The Wall Street Journal.
There also needs to be a follow-up in revitalizing Afghanistan’s economy, argues Zalmay Khalilzad, former US ambassador to Afghanistan, and a board member of the National Endowment for Democracy.
The US should use its purchasing power and contracting leverage to favor Afghan businesses, he writes:
Improving Afghan economic capability as we improve Afghan security capability is vital. With the latter, we strengthen the government of Afghanistan. With the former, we can put young Afghans to work and create the basis for Afghan self-reliance.
Recent Comments