The necessary step of building a free Afghanistan

I must admit I was a skeptic. When I first heard that the United States would possibly participate in overthrowing the Taliban, I balked at the idea. It seemed impractical and without purpose. It quickly has become evident, however, that supporting the overthrow of the Taliban is a necessary step the United States must take.

It is unlikely that Afghanistan can be prevented from serving as a sanctuary for terrorists unless the Taliban is overthrown. Karl Inderfurth, assistant secretary for South Asian affairs, in a statement before the Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Operations in March 1999 asserted, "Afghanistan has become a breeding ground for international terrorism."

This is demonstrated by the fact that the Taliban has supported terrorist groups such as Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida, which has many training camps in Afghanistan and has been harboring bin Laden since 1996. Furthermore, Inderfurth also stated that "terrorists with links to Afghanistan, both veterans of the fighting and those who have received training or shelter there, have committed terrorist acts in the region, including Kashmir, and beyond — in Europe, Africa and even in the U.S."

The aim of the Taliban and its terrorist allies isn't just to control Afghanistan but rather to impose their version of Islam on the rest of the Islamic world. For example, the Taliban has been supportive of fundamentalist movements in Pakistan and the rest of central Asia. The spread of Islamic fundamentalism throughout Asia and especially in Pakistan can have dire consequences; the region is already one of the most unstable in the world, especially because of India's and Pakistan's possession of nuclear weapons and turmoil in the Middle East and in the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia.

One of the main components of modern-day Islamic fundamentalism is intense hatred of America and the cries of "Holy War" against the West. The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center weren't an example of using terrorism to achieve political goals but were more ominously terror for the sake of terror. The actions stemmed from fanatical hatred and irrationality. They didn't accomplish anything for their cause but rather the destruction of innocent lives and perhaps the possible destruction of their movements and the Taliban itself. Allowing such groups to be in power benefits no one.

Furthermore, the Taliban has brutally oppressed its own citizens. It rules over its portions of Afghanistan as dictators, denying basic human rights. The Taliban has tortured men whose beards are not long enough, prohibited women from working or pursuing an education and systematically discriminated against non-Pushtun ethnic groups. It has destroyed statues of Buddha, forced non-Muslims to wear identification badges and forcefully converted Shia mosques to Sunni ones.

Should the Taliban be overthrown, the Loya Jirga peace process, which is supported by the Northern Alliance, would convene. The Loya Jirga, headed by former King Zahir Shah, is an assembly that would call together representatives of all ethnic groups in Afghanistan in order to lay the framework for a democratic republic. This process would not only restore the Afghan people their liberties but would also ensure the broad-based support of all ethnic groups, which is necessary for effective governance, especially because of Afghanistan's diversity and lack of a majority group.

When objecting to American intervention in Afghanistan, the possibility of 'another Vietnam' is often mentioned. The fundamental difference between Vietnam and the present situation is that in the present situation America has been attacked directly and its national security is at stake. In Vietnam, America was fighting to protect its strategic interests as opposed to its national security and the lives of its citizens. In addition, the Vietcong were backed by the world's communist powers, making that group a formidable adversary, whereas only one government in the world even recognizes the Taliban. It is often said that by overthrowing the Taliban, America will alienate other Muslim nations. Yet, almost all Muslim nations fear Taliban-like fundamentalist movements in their own countries and have unequivocally backed America in the war against terrorism.

Overthrowing the Taliban, however, is only part of the solution. The United States must also engage in extensive nation building in Afghanistan. The biggest mistake America made was leaving that country after Soviets withdrew. Instead of helping to build infrastructure and a functioning society and bringing peace to the region, the United States left the Afghan people to more than a decade of endless civil war, which resulted in the fundamentalist Taliban controlling approximately 90 percent of the country.

During his presidential campaign, George W. Bush stated that the United States should not engage in nation building but rather only act abroad to protect its "vital national interests." However, a stable, democratic Afghanistan, based on rule of law, is crucial to the stability of the region and the prevention of terrorism. Such intervention is integral to America's national interests.

Moreover nation building is in the interest of the Afghan people who have lived in a society plagued by violence, lawlessness and poverty for more than 20 years. These ills, which help breed terrorism and fanaticism, can only be eliminated by a concerted nation-building effort by the United States and the United Nations.

United Nations nation-building efforts in East Timor, which transformed the newly independent war-ravaged nation to a functioning democracy based on rule of law, and Allied successes after World War II, which resulted in a rebuilt West Germany rising from the rubble to become one of the greatest economic powers in the world, show the potential of such efforts. Arvin Bahl is from Edison, NJ. He can be reached at abahl@princeton.edu.