Bringing stability to Afghanistan


The report by the Afghanistan NGO Security Office (Aid groups warn war in Afghanistan just beginning', January 21 ) highlights the drastically deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. Senlis Council research indicates there is now a permanent Taliban presence in 54% of Afghanistan. Furthermore, the insurgents' attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul has shown that the Taliban is an increasing threat to security.

For Nato to stand any chance of defeating the Taliban, it would need to double its ground troop numbers to 80,000 and remove all caveats on deployments. The lack of adequate troop commitments to the south from countries such as France and Germany has caused forces to resort to tactics such as aerial bombing, which led to civilian casualties, alienating the Afghan people and sabotaging any chance of winning hearts and minds.

The war in Afghanistan can never be won by military means alone. Success depends on tackling the humanitarian and socio-economic problems facing the impoverished Afghan people. A failure on the part of the international community to address starvation in the south plays into the hands of the Taliban. Matching military spending with development and aid spending would send a clear message to the local population that the international community is there for the good of the Afghan people, which would win back the much-needed hearts and minds necessary to bring stability back to Afghanistan.

Jorrit Kamminga
Director of Policy Research, The Senlis Council.


http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/letters/display.var.1989621.0.bringing_stability_to_afghanistan.php