Building an aircraft while in flight
James Diez, "Into the Heart of Darkness"
In a little cafe next the great Helmand River, a young university lecturer and a New York Times journalist talk over milk tea about the state of this once modern epicenter. Lashkar Gah is the capital of Helmand, the southern province in Afghanistan. Once referred to as “Little America”, the city--although not under direct Taliban control--is situated in the heart of the conflict. Ten of the 14 districts of the province have been seized by the terrorist group. Girls schools have been shut down and the government’s women’s councils have been targeted. The Taliban has banned all music and television that is un-Islamic, which makes it troublesome for citizens like Ghulam Rabbani whose income depends on the sales of these items to sustain business.
In many ways the narrative of Lashkar Gah is representative of the pressing obstacles hindering the democratization of Afghanistan. Because of the current pressure from the Taliban, the Afghan government is forced to tend to immediate issues and can’t allot more time to working toward long term projects that would ensure a strong democracy. Change is occurring, but it is slow and faces a Taliban force that hasn’t had this much territorial control since 2001.
As of March 2nd, General John W. Nicholson will oversee the NATO mission in Afghanistan, replacing General John F. Campbell. This mission looks to reduce the number of foreign troops present and train and assist the Afghan forces. This task has proved particularly challenging in the southern region, where leadership problems and corruption threaten the success of the Afghan forces. Moreover, other problems lie in the fact that only half of the Afghan soldiers supposed to be on duty in Helmand are actually there. As General Campbell said, the transition to more Afghan military leadership is like “building an aircraft while in flight.”
While the end goal is to have Afghanistan become a full self-governing democracy, this military transition poses a difficult situation for its finance ministry. To take back the land from the Taliban, there is strong support to build up a robust military defense, however this requires money--money the government doesn’t have. According to the United States Institute of Peace, Afghanistan experienced a “full-blown” fiscal crisis in 2014. Corruption in tax collection, stagnant government revenues have contributed to the strain of balancing funds for military expenditures with running the rest of the country. Additionally, the country relies deeply on foreign aid, thus making it hard to establish full management.
Both the United States and the Afghan government, led by Ashraf Ghani, are committed to bring democracy to the region. This was demonstrated with the signing of the bilateral security agreement in September 2014, which the former president Hamid Karzai refused to sign.The treaty provides for a continued relationship between the US and Afghanistan after the US has decreased its troop presence.
But the war still presses on and demands for military resources are becoming more urgent. Just today, the Taliban attacked police and intelligence buildings in the Gereshk District of Helmand, and according to the New York Times, “have drawn back hundreds of American soldiers and advisers” to help the city go on the defense. The progress of democratization cannot lose its momentum and will strengthen the Afghan government in many ways that could help it win the war. Yet today’s news shows that the external pressure from insurgencies are retaining United States’ forces in the area and keeping the country under a state of emergency.
References
NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/09/world/asia/as-the-taliban-menace-afghanistan-the-helmand-river-offers-solace.html?&moduleDetail=section-news-0&action=click&contentCollection=Asia%20Pacific®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&pgtype=article
