Global Policy Forum

By Matthew Riemer

As Afghanistan has left the minds of most pundits and politicians and fallen from the headlines of U.S. corporate newsprint, many of the "elements" eradicated during Operation Enduring Freedom are resurfacing under many different guises as well as some familiar ones. In the southern part of the country, recent reports point to a regrouping of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban, who were targeted by the United States during their invasion of Afghanistan for providing shelter and support to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

Skirmishes and firefights involving smaller, lesser-known groups are also frequently reported by Afghan officials in Kabul.Many civilians are not entirely opposed to such a revival as they feel that the Karzai government is failing at its given task of bringing stability and security to Afghanistan, while they are suspicious of the intent of the Americans. In addition to thousands of dead already, on Wednesday, April 9 more innocent Afghans were killed in one of the U.S.' many "unfortunate accidents."

The Associated Press reported: "An American warplane mistakenly bombed a house, killing 11 civilians near Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan." Incidents like this do not help the image of the U.S. military presence and actually serve as a stimulus for civilians to turn to local militias or anyone, for that matter, who is capable of offering them some kind of security. Tribune News Services of New Delhi wrote on April 10, "The Taliban fighters hiding in Pakistan and in the areas located along the Afghanistan border are hoping to take advantage of the rising anti-U.S. sentiments among the Afghans to come back to power. Various Taliban groups have reportedly already had a meeting and have decided to regroup under the leadership of Mullah Mohammad Omar."

On February 19, the U.S. State Department designated Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist." Hekmatyar, who leads the group Hizb-i-Islami as well as being a former Prime Minister, has become one the most prominent anti-American leaders in recent months and is linked to both the Taliban and al-Qaeda, according to the State Department. The State Department's claims seem to be born out by recent events, which continue to indicate a regrouping of anti-American and Western elements throughout Afghanistan who are using the failure of the United States' proxy government in Kabul and the inherent distrust of the U.S. in general to their advantage when recruiting new members and civilian support. The events so far this year, then, have been most unwelcome by those who had hoped for an Afghanistan on a road to quick recovery and democratization.

This must be all the more frustrating as these events cannot be separated from the U.S.' newfound focus on Iraq and the fact that all the aid promised Karzai's government in Tokyo last year has yet to arrive. Perhaps the greatest sign that the situation is dire is that the Taliban, even in some highly altered form, could regain any kind of power and influence at all, though now, unlike before, much of the nascent Taliban's newfound support may be coming from those looking to them as some kind of vehicle for Afghan nationalism opposed to an austere and repressive brand of Islam.

The newspapers and radio waves are filled with how to "secure the peace" in Iraq, how that government will form and evolve, and how the Iraqi people will take the first faltering steps towards some kind of democratic, free-market Utopia. Yet these questions are as applicable to Afghanistan as they are to Iraq. It's also worth noting the irony in the fact that the situation in Afghanistan is becoming worse right as another rebuilding process is beginning several hundred miles to the west. Just think, if the U.S. invades Iran next, a giant swath of Eurasia from Pakistan to Syria will be destabilized.

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