July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
U.S. should consider listening to Karzai (06/23/06)
Editorial
When Hamid Karzai talks, the United States ought to listen.
Karzai, you’ll recall, is the president of Afghanistan, the thoughtful-looking guy when a tendency to wear a distinctive shawl over his shoulders.
He’s our guy, someone who has been extremely supportive of American efforts to root out the Taliban and establish democracy in his country.
So when he offers an opinion on a subject as important as the “war on terror,” we’d be smart to pay attention.
The current approach, Karzai said the other day, isn’t working.
It’s not enough to apply military force. It’s not enough to hunt down al-Qaida. As long as the root causes of terrorism aren’t addressed, Karzai said, we’re just going to be caught in a never-ending circle of violence.
“I strongly believe ... that we must engage strategically in disarming terrorism by stopping their sources of supply of money, training, equipment and motivation,” Karzai was quoted by The Associated Press as saying.
In other words, we need to be smarter, not just more powerful.
For Karzai, the growing political problem is that the focus on military force is claiming too many Afghan lives. He recognizes, rightly, that it’s only a matter of time before those lost lives will haunt American policy. Perhaps they do already.
“It is not acceptable for us that in all this fighting, Afghans are dying. In the last three to four weeks, 500 to 600 Afghans were killed. (Even) if they are Taliban, they are sons of this land,” Karzai said.
The other problem with the focus on military force is that it fails to address the root cause of poverty which makes a country like Afghanistan fertile ground for hate-mongering mullahs.
“There has been help and assistance from the international community in some areas, but unfortunately, in some areas, there is no assistance or cooperation,” The AP quoted Karzai.
He’s speaking from experience, from a unique vantage point, and with a degree of wisdom. Will anyone in Washington be listening? — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
Karzai, you’ll recall, is the president of Afghanistan, the thoughtful-looking guy when a tendency to wear a distinctive shawl over his shoulders.
He’s our guy, someone who has been extremely supportive of American efforts to root out the Taliban and establish democracy in his country.
So when he offers an opinion on a subject as important as the “war on terror,” we’d be smart to pay attention.
The current approach, Karzai said the other day, isn’t working.
It’s not enough to apply military force. It’s not enough to hunt down al-Qaida. As long as the root causes of terrorism aren’t addressed, Karzai said, we’re just going to be caught in a never-ending circle of violence.
“I strongly believe ... that we must engage strategically in disarming terrorism by stopping their sources of supply of money, training, equipment and motivation,” Karzai was quoted by The Associated Press as saying.
In other words, we need to be smarter, not just more powerful.
For Karzai, the growing political problem is that the focus on military force is claiming too many Afghan lives. He recognizes, rightly, that it’s only a matter of time before those lost lives will haunt American policy. Perhaps they do already.
“It is not acceptable for us that in all this fighting, Afghans are dying. In the last three to four weeks, 500 to 600 Afghans were killed. (Even) if they are Taliban, they are sons of this land,” Karzai said.
The other problem with the focus on military force is that it fails to address the root cause of poverty which makes a country like Afghanistan fertile ground for hate-mongering mullahs.
“There has been help and assistance from the international community in some areas, but unfortunately, in some areas, there is no assistance or cooperation,” The AP quoted Karzai.
He’s speaking from experience, from a unique vantage point, and with a degree of wisdom. Will anyone in Washington be listening? — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
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