Unity In Afghanistan

Well, that's settled now. Hamid Karzai has informed those gathered to a conference in Kabul, a 'peace conference' no less, that he and Afghanistan are fully prepared to be self-accountable, independent, capable of looking to their own interests and they will achieve this by 2014. A timeline that fits neatly into the plans of the United States as it happens. The country with the most troops stationed in Afghanistan. In a coalition with other NATO countries, all of which are anxious to depart that benighted country.

It's mind-boggling to consider what this nine-year 'war' against the Taliban has cost all the Western backers. In lives lost, in nations' treasuries, in time spent within the country desperately attempting to mend all the ills of an entrenched medieval society held in the thrall of a fanatical religion that imposes its strictures on every facet of human endeavour; its social functioning, politics, ideology. A country where indeed people live to serve a divine master. One whose functionaries prey pitilessly on the vulnerable.

International aid continues to pour into the country; humanitarian groups busily invested in a determined effort to bring civil services, health services, jurisprudence, a working government administration, schools and employment opportunities to a people whose most recent memories and whose heritage has been invasion and oppression by imperialist armies and by tribal adversaries armed, trained and directed by neighbouring countries.

The current government of Afghanistan is irremediably corrupt. It has no intention of changing its traditions that compel people to buy what they require from corrupt officials at every level of society. It is the grease that brings a modicum of order to a creaking administrative effort. Western aid donors, fully cognizant of this endemic corruption have funnelled funding through NGOs, bypassing government coffers.

President Hamid Karzai is offended by this, feeling he and his ministers should be given the opportunity to disburse, to plan and to produce the civic infrastructures to forward the interests of the country directly. The distrust in which he is generally held has caused him the occasional mental distress demonstrated by his none-too-veiled threats to join hands with the Taliban. His intention still is to buy out the less-committed Taliban, ordinary Pashtun tribespeople, his very own.

"It's absolutely important to us and the international community for its taxpayers' money to be acknowledged to have an impact on the ground, to lead to sustainable development, to strengthen Afghanistan institutions", said Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwai. Illustrating how cleverly adaptive these minds are to the buzz-words of obliging, guilt-ridden Western democracies, eager to secure their departure, desperate to ensure that the jihadists that threaten the West are buffered.

Sixty nations taking part in the conference, with a wide variety of non-governmental international institutions represented by their own delegates; this is a large-scale conference taking place in a quite dangerous war zone. Even though it is in the capital of the country, a city said to be well secured and defended, the Taliban prove otherwise, casually sending in their own suicide-belted delegates. Blowing up security-tight areas in Kabul. So much for tight security.

After nine long and weary years of Western sacrifice to the needs of Afghanistan and its tormented people precisely what has been accomplished? A veneer of civilization, greater numbers of children, including girls, attending school. Health clinics available for people's primary needs, a budding Islamic-style democracy where graft is the way of life and continues to be, a judiciary that is only slightly tainted, a police force held in contempt by the people, and an army incapable of acting on its own.

And Kandahar, the heart and soul of the 'insurgency'? That area which NATO claims has seen success? Some success that is. Greater numbers of attacks as the Taliban build up their forces with new recruits on a constantly-growing basis. Aided and abetted by tribal villagers with whom they share a common heritage and who are willing to learn how to produce IEDs and to carefully secure them. Foreigners are not, and have never been welcome in Afghanistan.

Canada will be withdrawing its forces in 2011, as will several other countries. Britain several years later. The United States already looks to the future divestment of its troops in the country. Depending on its staunch ally, Pakistan, to help guide Afghanistan to a steady state of reasonable functioning. This is the same Pakistan whose secret service trained and armed the Taliban.

Nuclear Pakistan that continually threatens its nuclear neighbour India, sending terror-jihadis into Mumbai and Kashmir. Democratic-inclined Pakistan whose tribal regions genially host al-Qaeda and their own Pakistani Taliban whose predations on tribal villages and whose incursions into Pakistan's own cities setting off suicide missions has become commonplace.

All is well.