WHY AFGHANISTAN?

In relation to the recent elections in Afghanistan one of Winston Churchill’s quote’s about democracy comes to mind – he said that “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried”. There may be some truth in this especially in an Afghan context, but freedom and democracy should not just be clichés or spin, they are actually worth fighting for and are worth protecting and in view of the price being paid in the British soldiers lives at the moment, this is worth remembering even if it is off scant comfort to those who have lost loved ones and comrades.

As the death toll rises, so understandably do the calls for a withdrawal, as someone who has relatives who have (and will again) serve in Afghanistan I understand the heart felt calls for a withdrawal of UK troops. Yet, if there is a lesson from history we would do well to learn it is that dismissing, ignoring or abandoning Afghanistan is not an option – that choice is one that has ended up proving expense in the long term the last time we tried it and led to 9-11. Over the last few decades until 2001, Afghans lived through periods of horrific violence and destruction, with each successive questionable regime bringing greater deprivation and misery than the last.

Yet, despite this, a percentage of the Afghan people braved rockets, bombs and intimidation and came out to vote. In these last elections, despite legitimate concerns about the low turnout in the insurgency wracked south, the Afghans were effectively asked to choose ballots or bullets; to a greater extent when given the choice they chose ballots.

Although Taliban and Warlord intimidation kept a significant percentage of voters home, international observers while noting some voting irregularities and the low turnout were ready to say that turnout, was probably sufficient enough to reflect national sentiment. While there is significant room for improvement in the Governance of Afghanistan and in the quality of the lives of ordinary Afghans, this has to be step in the right direction towards progress and peace in this troubled region and it should be welcomed by the international community.

If we and the Afghan people are lucky, then these elections could reinvigorate and improve Afghan governance and civic society, something that is an absolute necessity for the success of counter-insurgency, stabilisation and reconstruction programmes. Whenever the election results come in and whatever the result, it needs to be made entirely clear to the incoming President that ongoing aid and assistance to the Afghan government to defeat the Taliban insurgency and to provide security and development is entirely conditional on improved and accountable governance, civil rights and further reform – there are no more blank cheques.

The real danger is that any lasting legacy of Western intervention in Afghanistan in 2001 will be transitory unless there are more reforms, more efficient targeted and monitored use of international aid programmes (this is a necessity not a luxury), corruption must be curbed and reduced, the Taliban effectively dealt with and there must be and end to Pakistani political and military interference inside Afghanistan.

Unless these things occur to some degree quite quickly then we will fail no matter how generous international aid has been donated and no matter how many lives have been lost. If that happens then our efforts will have been insufficient to achieve the necessary security aims which must include an eventual withdrawal of foreign troops and a lasting stable sovereign Afghanistan – and the precious lives of our service personnel will have been lost in vain.