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The USA is here to stay in the Middle East. This is apparent. Meanwhile, the pressure on Iran on the nuclear issue while the Israelis are ignored. The linkage between Iraq and Israel is apparent to all. The region cannot be at peace without the Israeli withdrawal from conquered Palestinian land. That much is for sure. Meanwhile, a regional peace process must get underway for a regional solution to any post-USA Iraq. Eventually the USA will have to leave Iraq and a preparation has to be underway now. The Iraq international conference was only a beginning. More is required and soon enough. The current global war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan has brought in NATO, the United States, into Afghanistan but unfortunately the country was in a mess after about six years of Western involvement. The country was confronted with grave security challenges of a very complex nature. Earlier, the situation in Afghanistan had been drastically changed because of the American invasion and the removal of the Taliban regime in December 2001. Mullah Mohammad Omar and the Al Qaeda network, headed by Osama bin Laden, were apparently smashed by the U.S. The Taliban had been targeted by the United States for protecting Osama bin Laden. The ongoing US-led military operation in Afghanistan continued to carry out its counter-terrorism mission. However, analysts said that the Taliban and other insurgents have mounted their most serious challenge to Afghanistan's Government. The media reports that the Taliban are mounting increasing attacks on Afghan and United States-led security forces. The Taliban are present in small pockets, particularly in the eastern and southern regions of Afghanistan. The Taliban-Al Qaeda alliance has resorted to suicide bombings, and deadly attacks on allied forces. Meanwhile, analysts report that civilian casualties caused by NATO and United States forces is driving the war-weary population of Afghanistan into the fold of the Taliban. Nearly 1,000 civilians died in the violence related to the insurgency. More people are being killed in Afghanistan each week. Twenty people were killed by NATO forces in early March 2007.
Decades of turmoil have wrecked the country’s economy. The country is still one of the poorest countries on earth, it is riddled with drugs and guns and its people have some of the lowest levels of health and education anywhere. Afghnistan was the world's biggest producer of opium. A new U.N. drug assessment indicated this year's opium harvest could be higher than last year's record output. The U.N. claimed that the Taliban gunmen protect poppy farmers and taxed the crop, deriving money for their insurgency which was reportedly as much as hundreds of millions of dollars. Aside from offering protection, the Taliban also derived its local support from ethnic and tribal ties.
Ethnic rivalries run deep and war lords once again control much of the country. Afghanistan not only needs to revive its economy and establish a functioning government but it will need to rebuild all its institutions, including a military and a judiciary. Millions of mines will have to be removed and millions of refugees returned to their homes. Meanwhile, with help from the United States and the United Nations, Afghanistan had adopted its new constitution, establishing the country as an Islamic Republic, in early January 2004. Afghanistan's presidential elections were held on October 9, 2004 in which over 8 million people voted. Hamid Karzai won the elections with 55.4% of the votes. This was supposedly a landmark development in the country.
United States-Afghanistan Relations:
The United States and the Karzai government in Afghanistan have common strategic objectives and are cooperating to disrupt international terrorist networks and destroy their safe havens. The United States has also supported Afghanistan in the development of democracy in the country. To address these challenges, Afghanistan and the United States are building a strategic partnership and are establishing close cooperation, including regular, high-level exchanges on the political, security, and economic issues contained therein and other issues of mutual interest. The United States and Afghanistan are also earnestly working together to develop appropriate arrangements and agreements to implement their strategic partnership. This shared effort is based on a number of key principles, including a dedication to the rule of law, protection of the human rights and civil liberties of all individuals regardless of ethnic affiliations or gender, support for democratic governance, and reliance on the free market as the best means to further Afghanistan's economic progress. The strategic partnership's primary goal is to strengthen United States-Afghan ties to help ensure Afghanistan's long-term security, democracy, and prosperity. It should contribute to peaceful and productive relations between Afghanistan and its neighbors. This partnership will serve as the basis for our common efforts to cooperate in the war against international terror and the struggle against violent extremism, to promote stability and prosperity in the region, and to remain steadfast in supporting Afghanistan's campaign to eradicate poppy cultivation, provide alternate livelihoods assistance, and fight the production and trafficking of drugs. Decades of civil war, political violence, and interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs have made Afghanistan's security, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity particularly crucial areas for United States-Afghan cooperation. To enhance Afghanistan's long-term democracy, prosperity, and security, the United States and Afghanistan intend to work closely together. However, the Karzai government’s efforts to build a government based on democratic principles, respect for human rights, and a market economy fall short of desired actions. A great many pitfalls remain.
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Sohail Mahmood
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