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The
Australian
14 November 2002
By Greg Sheridan
Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister wants Australia to stay
the course in his trouble homeland.
ABDULLAH
Abdullah, Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, is about the
most effective international spokesman the struggling
Government in Kabul could hope to have at the moment.
In
an exclusive interview with the Australian, Abdullah gave
me one overriding message. Afghanistan profoundly values
the participation of Australian Special Air Service troops
in the battle to defeat terrorism and stabilise his country.
He
and his Government value them so much they don’t want
them to leave: "I hope we can continue to enjoy the contribution
of the Australians to the coalition forces in the future.
This is a contribution from a country [that] has helped
Afghanistan in the past."
Abdullah
is effusive when talking of the performance of the Australians
and the coalition forces more generally: "They have done
a great job. A year ago, 80 per cent of the country was
under the control of the Taliban and Al Qaida and there
were hue terrorist training camps. They [Australian and
other coalition forces] have performed very well. They
have taken into consideration the traditions of our people
and they have maintained their popularity. This is the
first time foreign forces have been welcome in Afghanistan."
This
will present a small dilemma for Canberra. Assuming there
is eventually armed conflict in Iraq, and well-informed
sources suggest a 75 per cent likelihood that this will
happen, one obvious thing for Canberra to do is pull its
150 SAS soldiers out of Afghanistan and send a similar
detachment to Iraq as part of a naval, air and infantry
commitment.
But
as Abdullah says, the Afghans would dearly love us to
stay in Afghanistan, where the Australian SAS enjoys the
highest reputation. One possible solution would be for
Canberra to send a different military group to Afghanistan,
more concerned with infrastructure building and support
rather than prosecuting the war on terrorism.
Abdullah
would like the International Stabilisation Force to be
expanded, but he recognises contributing nations are unlikely
to do this. Therefore he is focused on two alternatives
in improving security: building the new Afghan National
Army and getting a greater contribution to domestic security
from the coalition forces involved in the war against
terrorism.
He
provides an up-beat take on security in Afghanistan and
asks for understanding.
After
23 years of continuous war, it is not surprising that
the new Government has been unable to pacify the whole
nation quickly.
The
same thing applies to the continuing problem of the illegal
poppy-growing industry. The government needs money to
get farmers to switch to other crops and to provide rural
development and employment.
He
is not publicly critical of the pace at which aid has
been delivered to Afghanistan but he makes the following
plea: "We need our international partners to consider
the urgency of the situation, to consider Afghanistan
as a special case." He makes a simple case: Don’t ignore
Afghanistan. The West did that before and the result was
September 11.
Abdullah’s
words echo recent US thinking, which is that the emphasis
of its effort in Afghanistan needs to switch from directly
military measures to capacity building for the new Government.
Abdullah
is honest about the multiplicity of security challenges
his Government faces: " Some Taliban and al Qaida leaders
have relocated in Pakistan. They have not regrouped in
a way that they could come back into power but they could
launch terrorist actions, and that is a concern.
"Some
prominent pro-Taliban figures have been elected in provincial
and national elections in Pakistan. I hope this won’t
be a problem for us."
We
spoke before Abdullah had received a specific information
on whether latest audio tape purporting to carry the voice
of Osama bin Laden was genuine. Nonetheless, he believes
Taliban leader Mullah Omar is still alive and hiding out
in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region: " But they
are living like fugitives. They cannot survive. One way
or another they will be brought to justice."
Abdullah
is warmly supportive of the Bush administration over Iraq,
which gives the lie to the idea that there is a monolithic
Muslim position on this issue. There is no sympathy in
Afghanistan for Saddam Hussein, he says: " The [UN] Security
Council resolution is the last chance for the Iraqi regime
to comply. Should Iraq act differently, the international
community must make a decision that that kind of game
cannot go on forever.
"The
important question then is to do something good for the
future of the Iraqi people, to prevent the idea that the
action is taken against Muslims. We all know the real
record of the Iraqi regime against its own people."
Without
offering specific information, Abdullah affirms belief
that al Qaida has substantial networks in South-East Asia
and that the Bali bombing was linked to al Qaida: " Bali
looks like al Qaida. Al Qaida’s target bas been innocent
people and [the intent was] to cause massive causalities
among innocent people. The use of explosives with a big
impact is characteristic. Events like Bali should strengthen
the collective resolve of humanity to get rid of this
menace."
Finally,
Abdullah does not believe that Islam is in any way inconsistent
with democracy. Dictators, he points out, come from all
backgrounds. The spirit of Islam, he says, is a spirit
of tolerance, moderation and the rights of people.
We
can now only hope he’s right and that his ideas prevail
in his homeland.
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