Friday, February 24, 2006

The assumption that we are failing in Afghanistan -- presented by CARE Canada's A. John Watson in a Citizen op-ed last week ("Governments are overrated," Feb. 16) -- is wrong. Reality does not support such a misleading and apocalyptic prognosis. A more balanced and nuanced analysis of a complex country such as Afghanistan would better serve the interests of those who are genuinely attempting to bring lasting stability, peace and prosperity.

The fact that CARE Canada has performed exceptionally well as a humanitarian organization during three decades of conflict is commendable. But that was during a period of occupation, mayhem, dependency and statelessness. As the Afghan government has made clear, CARE's current projects supporting widows and providing aid to uplift the destitute from acute poverty through skills training or micro-credit investment are worthy of continued support by Canada.

What Mr. Watson fails to grasp is the political dynamic that was created more than four years ago with the overthrow of terror-exporting rulers, when Afghans and many international stakeholders, under the auspices of the UN, decided on a comprehensive recovery plan culminating with a fairly progressive constitution, historic presidential elections in 2004, and elections for a national assembly and provincial councils in 2005. It is clear that Afghans do care about politics.

They consider these achievements as a reaffirmation of their inalienable right to self-determination, sovereignty, national identity and unity. However, there is strong realization that economic welfare and growth are part-and-parcel of the recovery agenda, without which political gains would be untenable.

Recognizing the enormous challenges and problems that burden a recovering state -- as opposed to a failed state -- this process gave birth to another milestone last month when more than 60 countries and multilateral organizations agreed on the Afghanistan Compact, which provides the framework for international engagement in Afghanistan for the next five years. It sets benchmarks and mutual obligations to ensure greater coherence and co-ordination between the Afghan government and donors. Afghanistan presented a development strategy document that spells out the government's blueprint for implementing development projects, increasing security, tackling narcotics, and strengthening rule of law, governance and human rights. Long-term commitments to Afghanistan's stability and development are critical for success.

The Canadian presence in Afghanistan is not, and has never been, a peacekeeping engagement because, by definition, the nature of the conflict in Afghanistan does not require peacekeeping.

It is more aptly viewed as a peace-building exercise. Canada's military deployment along with other NATO members to the volatile south is obviously not risk-free. However, the presence of the multi-national brigade alongside Afghan forces to help prevent a terrorist-extremist resurgence is essential to allow Afghans to build an environment and conditions conducive to stability and reconstruction.

Let us not forget that Afghanistan now has rambunctious elected legislators whose views and demands cannot be taken lightly. There are, obviously, numerous outstanding economic, social, judicial and security-related challenges, but to expect that the problems of a country with almost three decades of traumatic experience, situated in a perilous region of the world, should have been fixed by now is simplistic.

The Afghan people understand the gravity of the situation. However, as every credible poll conducted in the country in the past four years indicates, Afghans remain overwhelmingly optimistic about their future, grateful for the changes that have taken place and realistic about the challenges that face them.

To present an alarmist scenario or compare Afghanistan to other failing states in the world is presumptuous and counter-productive. The Afghans are determined to move forward with the continued assistance and commitment of the international community to implement the recovery plan. In this regard, Canada has played, and should continue to play, an active role in the security and economic development of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan welcomes the continued Canadian resolve to build upon past achievements in order to sustain and enhance the momentum that has been created in the critical security and development sectors.

Omar Samad is the Ambassador of Afghanistan to Canada.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2006