Second Bonn Conference On Afghanistan – Analysis
By Ahmad Noor
On December 5 2011, there will be another significant event in the recent history of Afghanistan when the international community and Afghans will once again sit down together to mark the 10th anniversary of the decade long war. At this juncture of time, the international community and Afghans will decide the fate of this war-ravaged country as the transition process is already in progress in some provinces. Afghan security forces have taken over responsibility in some provinces at the same time as opposition forces are spreading tentacles in different areas of the country.
The second conference on Afghanistan in Bonn, the former capital of Germany at the Rhine river, is considered as a spectacular opportunity for the government of Afghanistan to devise a future strategy with the help of international community. As noted, there has been an increase in deaths among both Afghan and international troops. Targeted killing of high profile figures and the strengthening of the opposition forces have worsened the outlook for the country. In such a dismaying situation, no one is safe. Despite spending billions of dollars, most parts of the country lie at the mercy of insurgents, militants, drug traffickers and various other terrorist networks.
It is a well known fact that one of the major failures of the Bonn I Conference in 2001 was its inability to bring the Taliban into the political process and its failure to bind neighboring and other countries to a policy of non-intervention in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has been the victim of external interference for a long time. Different players have been playing their games and pursuing policies in their own national interests. Unfortunately, their divergent interests have resulted in disharmony and conflict in Afghanistan.
Therefore the Bonn II Conference is a great opportunity for the Afghan government as well as for the international community to make a workable and acceptable future plan which will best suit the interests of Afghanistan and the region as a whole.
The agenda of the conference as declared by German Ambassador Steiner is the transfer of responsibility for security to the Afghan Government by 2014, further international commitment to Afghanistan after the handover and the political process of national reconciliation, including the integration of former Taliban fighters
The important question now is how to make Bonn II a successful and useful conference. The following steps should be considered:
The international community should give priority to the interests of Afghanistan rather than to their own interests and perceptions and plan from the view of people living in the region. First and foremost, the international community should decide how national reconciliation and negotiation should be started. The conference should discuss this issue and make their recommendations. Furthermore, a mechanism should be constructed to pursue the recommendations with full spirit.
The present Afghan government should give its complete strategy for an anti-corruption campaign. The big fishes both inside and outside government should be treated with an iron hand.
Justice should be rendered to all individuals or groups who have violated human rights including warlords, drug lords and especially corrupt government and non government officials.
The aid and assistance promised by the international community should be spent in a proper way and the poorest should be helped. The international community in cooperation with the consultation of the Afghan government should draw up a program for spending aid in an appropriate way,
In Bonn II, the international community and Afghan government should work together to create employment and educational opportunities for young Afghans. This will certainly promote the cause of peace and stability. It will also discourage Afghans from abandoning Afghanistan.
The government slots, cabinet and senior posts must be given to individuals who are well educated, nationalistic, patriotic and honest. The ministries should not be divided by the will and interference of donor countries, clan or family interest.
The Afghanistan National Forces should be organized and trained on a long term basis for many more years to come. More responsibility for organizing the army should be given to Germany and that of the police to Japan because both the countries are well respected due to their positive involvement. The process of recruitment in the army and police should be improved with more young educated Afghans selected. For this purpose army and police recruitment should be included at schools for the 12th graders who should be acquainted with opportunities for working there.
The international community must assure the people of Afghanistan that they are committed and want durable and prolonged stability in the country for another decade.
President Hamid Karzai must present a realistic road map to end the conflict in Afghanistan – ignoring this will put my country well on the way to another decade of crisis and chaos.
Dr. Ahmad Noor, Editor Afghanistan, World Security Network Foundation, holds Ph.D degree in International Relations from the University of Peshawar, Pakistan.
It is clear and evident that by now one is able to see clearly that there is not one player in Afghanistan affairs. The ones that wish the conflict to continue are the ones that brought this conflict there in the first place, and they are the drug dealers, making in excess of $60B/year from the sale. To stop this would mean the basic loss of revenue to these devils, and they will do everything in their power to continue this endless game. So the Bonn conference will do very little, unless the opium stops completely, then they wont have what they want. Next the second group that is involved is NATO and how they feed off the west’s coffers, they need conflicts so that the devils running it can pay themselves, they divided the Libyan wealth just before they helped the Misrata goons. So you see it’s all a façade, a game for until people realize, they try to legitimate it by these so-called conference, “Loya Girga” people hand-picked for the job of Yes, “Bonn Conference” – others deciding the fate of Afghanistan run by an illegitimate government picked prior to 2001 by this very Bonn conference attendees. If you and afghan try to attend, you will not be welcome. In other words if you are honest, truthful, and a Moslem, you will not be able to attend this conference, because you do not have what it takes to be a part of their culture, which is completely the opposite to you. So any conference on Afghanistan should be solely arranged, attended and legitimised by educated Afghans, tribal elders (Misus the the ones that have blood on their hands, in any way shape or form) and convened in Kabul after all foreign troops leave Afghanistan. This new Girga should choose the new leadership, and as for the candidates, well definitely not the ones that have been chosen so far. There are so many able people in and outside of Afghanistan that would like to help this country, but cannot, because the west has installed this puppet government and they have ignored the calls of afghans. The UN is the pillar of this organisation that has held progress back in this country for the last 10 years. All this money that is said to have been spent is a lie, no more than $2B/ year has been spent and all this is new debt piling up on a once Debt -Free Afghanistan 10 years ago. This is the other agenda of the west to get Afghanistan indebted to as to control it’s resources. Coming to resources, why should we auction our resoures to the highest bidder, this is not what should happen. Each and large mining resource Copper, Iron Ore etc, should have been, and should be a national company issuing shares to the public, and run by professionals. We Afghans do have professionals, but the west does not allow us to get involved. Look at the corruption, it is ranked No. 1 in the world and the most corrupt, even the court system is corrupt including most of parliament, 90% of the Supreme court, and 70% nearly of all of the government and it’s employees. This was not the case before the west came to our country, however they all cite that this was indeed the case in their articles, just to vindicate themselves from the mess that they have brought on us. Instead they could have re-built the country with only $24B if only. Currently we don’t really have any kind of real industry, we import 97% of everything, indeed this is a very dangerous position to be in, I mean we can’t even feed ourselves, what does that tell you, except for a failed state. Like I said, no matter what you do with this government it will not improve itself ever. It’s like the Mafia, even though they might find a legitimate way of business, they will always find a way to make a scheme of it, even though it where completely unnecessary. Hope, I only hope that they leave us alone.
Naeem should run the next Bonn conference, except that he’s right; who’s business is it but Afghans to decide what Afghanistan will be? If Europeans meeting in Germany believe the next step is anything but getting out, the only elite thing about them is their suits.
The article is amusing…
“The international community should give priority to the interests of Afghanistan… etc.”
“Justice should be rendered to all individuals or groups who have violated human rights…”
… but not helpful.