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Following US policies is turning Kandahar into a suicide mission for Canada
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Canadian troops and Afghan civilians are paying with their lives for Canada’s adherence to the US government’s failing military and counter-narcotics policies in Kandahar.
The US-led counter-terrorist operations and militaristic poppy eradication strategies have triggered a new war with the Taliban and other insurgent groups, and are causing countless civilian deaths. To a large extent, it can be said that Operation Enduring Freedom and the related militaristic counter-narcotics policies are significant contributors to the current state of war in Kandahar and the other southern provinces. Canada and the international community continue to seem to unquestioningly accept America’s fundamentally flawed policy approach in southern Afghanistan, thereby jeopardising the success of military operations in the region and the stabilisation, reconstruction and development mission objectives.
The Canadian mission in southern Afghanistan must respond to three equally important crises:
1. The Poverty Crisis
After five years of international presence in Afghanistan and the establishment of a democratically elected government, little has been achieved to relieve the extreme poverty of the majority of the rural Afghan population in Kandahar province.
The substantial efforts and vast amounts of funds provided for the establishment of stability and security in Afghanistan have not been matched by comparable measures in terms of development.
The basic needs of the local population are not being met and as a result the population is giving its support back to the Taliban and other local power-holders.
2. The Opium Crisis
Forced poppy crop eradication has dramatically contributed to the acceleration of the deteriorating security and poverty situation in Kandahar.
The most disquieting consequence of this ineffective counter-narcotics policy is that it has intensified the local power games.
The allegiance of local populations is now shifting away from support for the international community and the central government towards Taliban insurgent factions which are regaining power by cashing in on growing local disillusionment.
3. The Security Crisis
Although in 2001 a high security threat existed in Afghanistan, the current state of war has been triggered by the very interventions which were intended to counteract the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The security crisis has been produced by a combination of an aggressive international military presence, confusion surrounding the military mission and objectives, and a lack of respect and understanding for the local communities in Afghanistan. Innocent civilians have been the victims of the coalition’s counter-insurgency interventions in Kandahar province with no proper response to those deaths.
Until now, the international community’s response to these interlinked crises has been largely ineffective.
Security, development and counter-narcotics policies have operated independently of one another with counter-narcotics and military responses given priority over responding to the poverty and development crises.
The multi-dimensional nature of Afghanistan’s crisis situation requires a comprehensive and coordinated response, where each of the three crises is awarded equal importance. Additionally, none of the policy areas should be allowed to undertake operations that undermine achievements in other areas. The most blatant example of this lack of critical policy integration is that the US-led forced poppy crop eradication campaigns have been allowed to be pursued in Kandahar province, despite the extremely negative effect these policies have on the security and poverty levels.
There does not seem to be any learning process underway regarding the results of US military presence in Kandahar. Actions and policies implemented have not been successful, or have in fact exacerbated the dynamics (in particular the support of the Taliban in this province) that initially brought the international community to Kandhahar.
Historically no foreign military presence has gained steady control of the southern parts of Afghanistan. The United States has been unable to do so in the years since 9/11 and it is not anticipated that the Canadian military will have any different experience if it continues to follow and support US policies there.
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Afghanistan’s Security and Development nexus
I. REPORT CONCLUSIONS WITH REGARD TO THE POVERTY CRISIS
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After five years of coalition presence, conditions of extreme poverty persist
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The unbalanced approach of the international community, which has mainly been directed towards counter-narcotics and counter-insurgency, has not only been ineffective and indirectly responsible for the growing state of war, it has also ignored the immediate and vital needs of the Afghan people. Much of the Afghan population is living in conditions of extreme poverty without any short or long term prospects of an improvement in their situation.
Much has been promised, but very little has been delivered.
Many do not perceive that they have received any benefits from the new government institutions and democracy.
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Ten months of Canadian presence in southern Afghanistan has failed to improve development in Kandahar – the situation has continued to deteriorate under Canadian PRT.
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Canadian troops are failing to stabilise Kandahar province, almost a year after taking over control of the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team. The Taliban and other insurgent groups have re-emerged, and the security situation has deteriorated significantly. In this increasingly negative security environment, Canadian troops have largely failed to assist in the reconstruction and economic development of the province, leaving the majority of the local population in extreme poverty and almost totally dependent on illegal poppy cultivation. However, it appears that Operation Enduring Freedom’s failings have not been openly discussed at the international level. As such, there is an urgent need to openly debate the limited results and counter-productive strategies of this operation.
No foreign military has ever succeeded in Afghanistan. The United States did not succeed when they were in Kandahar. Since the Canadians arrived, the situation has deteriorated further.
II. CONCLUSIONS WITH REGARD TO THE OPIUM CRISIS
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Support for US-backed counter-narcotics policies is further endangering the Canadian mission
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At present, poppy eradication is destroying the livelihoods of a large part of the population of Kandahar, and these crops are not being replaced with sustainable and profitable alternatives.
Even if Canadian soldiers avoid actively supporting the US-backed Afghan national eradication campaigns, Canadians are still seen as complicit in the destruction of livelihoods by the United States.
This perceived complicity adds another chilling dimension to the local population’s experiences at the hands of international forces, thereby further fuelling support for the Taliban in Kandahar.
III. CONCLUSIONS WITH REGARD TO THE SECURITY CRISIS
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Canadian forces’ situation in Kandahar made more dangerous due to deep mission confusion
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Canadian troops are currently under the command of both the United States-led counter-terrorist Operation Enduring Freedom and the UN-mandated NATO-led stabilising International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
However, the differences between the objectives of the two military operations mean that the Canadian mission is far from clear, and there is local and international confusion surrounding the role of Canadian troops in Kandahar.
This opaqueness of purpose and timing is making the Canadian troops’ mission considerably more dangerous.
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Canada is at war in Afghanistan, not keeping the peace
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In Kandahar, Canadian troops are fighting increasingly deadly counter-insurgency operations under Operation Enduring Freedom against the resurgent Taliban.
Kandahar now is a war zone, with suicide bombings, rocket attacks, ambushes and repeated outbreaks of open warfare, resulting in numerous Canadian fatalities and many more injuries.
Consequently, Canadian troops are shifting away from their traditional and accustomed role as peacekeepers, and instead are heavily engaged in waging war against largely unidentifiable enemies
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Tragic civilian deaths lead to anger against Canadians in Kandahar
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Countless civilians have been killed in incidents involving Canadian or American troops in Kandahar, undermining local support and complicating Canada’s secondary mission objective - winning the hearts and minds of the local population.
The deaths of innocent Kandahar civilians at the hands of the Canadian military has come to symbolise to the local population Canadian indifference to the Afghan people and to symbolize the failing mission in southern Afghanistan. Canada has wholly failed to properly deal with the issue of civilian deaths in Kandahar.
It is increasingly evident that without clear local support, peace, stability and security will remain an illusion.
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Canada and the coalition must break with the US-led military approach
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Given the poor results achieved by the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom, the development efforts to date and the current counter-narcotics strategy, it is necessary to dramatically change the focus of the international community’s approach in Afghanistan. It is essential to completely re-think the policy objectives and priorities in the face of the current three-fold crisis situation which is putting at risk both the lives of the local population and the international military presence in southern Afghanistan.
I.RECOMMENDATIONS WITH REGARD TO THE POVERTY CRISIS
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Immediate financial aid needed for poor communities in Kandahar
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Southern Afghanistan urgently needs an injection of financial aid earmarked for the short-term relief of conditions of extreme poverty in which many people live.
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Engage with the local communities – Hold extensive community Jirga
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Afghanistan has been pushed into meeting ‘Western’ post-conflict benchmarks such as ‘free and fair elections’ at the expense of meeting the communities’ immediate need to provide for their families. The coalition requires a more comprehensive understanding of local priorities, and closer engagement and relationships at the local levels. The results of this work must then be used to shape the policy choices of senior decision makers.
There is an urgent need for Canadians and the international community in Kandahar to immediately and significantly engage with all stakeholders in Kandahar and to stimulate a shared sense of ownership of Kandahar’s reconstruction and development process. Canada should organise a broad series of local jirga-style meetings in accordance with local customs, between farmers´ representatives, community leaders, the international community and the Canadians in Kandahar.
This will help address the international community’s critical failure to understand the actual impact of the policies that have been implemented in the region. Effectively addressing local concerns with the participation of local communities should be an integral part of all future policy decisions.
II.RECOMMENDATIONS WITH REGARD TO THE OPIUM CRISIS
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Provide poppy farmers with a period of grace
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In the coming years, thousands of poppy farmers will continue to lack sufficient legal economic alternatives so as to provide for their families. As such, there is a strong need to provide this poor and often indebted part of the local population with a period of grace during which they could continue poppy cultivation without their crops being eradicated. Such a scheme for poppy farmers would provide for the smooth transition from current illegal poppy cultivation to legal alternatives without endangering farmers’ economic situations. A period of grace will also constrain rural communities’ support for insurgent groups, as farmers will no longer be targeted by ineffective and destructive poppy eradication campaigns. Thailand, after commencing its opium control project in 1978, gave farmers a four-year interlude in which to end their opium cultivation and find alternative crops. Such a scheme should also be applied to Afghanistan.
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Recognise the links between security and development: Stop Forced Crop Eradication
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Because crop eradication is fuelling southern Afghanistan’s insurgency, Kandahar stakeholders should urgently explore innovative approaches to the province’s drug economy. The pervasiveness of opium production in Kandahar province, its significant role in sustaining rural livelihoods, and the rise in prominence of parallel institutions related to the drug economy indicate that short-term, rapid eradication programmes have multiple, unintended and far-reaching, negative repercussions. Accordingly, any approach to curtail poppy cultivation in the province should assess both the short and long-term effects that such an approach will have on rural livelihoods, the local security situation and on broader long-term development prospects in the region. In accordance with UNODC policy there should be no forced crop eradication without a viable economic alternative first being in place.
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Recognise the importance of poppy to Kandahar: implement the provisions in the new Afghanistan Counter Narcotics law that provide for licensing opium production for medicine
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Effective responses to the challenges confronting Kandahar Province require a deeper understanding of the diverse and multiple connections between security, development and poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. Instead of implementing futile yet politically expedient crop eradication-centred drug policies, the international community must recognise the unique circumstances characterising the continued cultivation of poppy in Kandahar and open the way for new pragmatic approaches.
The best short-term solution for southern Afghanistan is assisting the country to produce essential opium-based medicines such as morphine and codeine in accordance with the legal framework found in the new Afghanistan Counter-Narcotics Law passed in December 2005. Implementing these provisions would partly bring illegal poppy cultivation under control and would also provide economic opportunities and hope to the poverty-stricken poppy growing areas of southern Afghanistan. Licensed poppy cultivation would impact positively on the current
security situation by decreasing popular sympathy for insurgents and increasing support for the central and local government.
III.RECOMMENDATIONS WITH REGARD TO THE SECURITY CRISIS
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Clarify and rationalize the currently conflicting objectives of the international military presence
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National and international policies relating to the presence and purposes of international military and civilian personnel in Kandahar province must be clarified and coordinated. The profusion of various missions in the region and their conflicting objectives threatens the safety of Canadian personnel in the province. The deteriorating security situation necessitates that Canada’s mission in the south of Afghanistan be as clear and comprehensible as possible, both for the soldiers on the ground, the people of Kandahar and the Canadian public.
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Counter-insurgency efforts must be linked with pro-poor development work
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The international coalition and the Canadian mission in southern Afghanistan should focus on the immediate economic needs of the local communities, and any use of force should be balanced with extensive, visible and effective development efforts. Sustainable peace in Kandahar and in Afghanistan cannot be achieved by military operations alone: comprehensive and long-term development efforts need to be made. The success of the international mission in Afghanistan relies on convincing the local population that development efforts will provide for a better future and on the realisation of these promises
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Stop the killings of civilians
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In order to achieve the objectives of stability, security, reconstruction and development, it is vital to stop the so-called “collateral damage” of civilian deaths which is fuelling anger among against the Canadians in the province and turning the local population back towards support for the Taliban. Recent incidents such as the coalition’s air strike on Azizi village in which approximately 30 civilians were killed including women and children, or the killing by Canadian troops of the father of six who was a passenger in a taxi in Kandahar City, increasingly undermine the support of the local population for the coalition’s presence and activities in southern Afghanistan. In the cases of those civilians which have already died, a proper diplomatic response to the families, in accordance with Afghan customs, must be immediately undertaken.
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