Rudyard Kipling popularized the term "Great Game" as the struggle between Britain and imperial Russia for control of warm water ports and Central Asia, in particular Afghanistan (c.1839-1921). Many attribute this as the motivation for the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. However, this version of the game became obsolete when the Red Army pulled out in 1989.

Almost a century later, Afghanistan again stands at the crossroads of a new version of "the Great Game" between oil companies and political fanatics. Besides the obvious factors of oil, politics, economic globalization, and geo-strategic maneuverings, today's struggle, oddly enough, also involves terrorism, civil liberties, social justice, and nation building.

The Media, Scholars & Afghanistan

Let's face it: Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, and their supporters do not represent the 20 million people of Afghanistan. Misrepresentation of facts to the masses, naive assessments, and faulty research by the media and scholars have incited the world against Afghans by dehumanizing them. This is what Edward Said calls "Orientalism."

Demonizing Afghan culture by giving the impression that Afghans are savages while Americans are this "bourgeois" or civilized culture is immoral. This type of splitting up the world between civilized and un-civilized will not end the terrorism directed at Americans and Afghans. This rhetoric is based on race models rooted in Euro-centric ideologies of the 19th century. It is a slap in the face of those working for peace and unity in Afghanistan and America. Furthermore, it casts doubt onto the academic scholars who publish such travesties.

Pre-September 11th Afghanistan

"The great bazaar was razed to the ground by the British as long ago as the 1840s [to avenge the loss of an entire army]. And since then, Kabul [a 6,000 year old city] has been rebuilt, and destroyed, and rebuilt and destroyed, over and over again … Destroyed, over and over again, by the folly of Afghans, by the malice of hill-dwelling zealots, by the righteous fury of the West, by ideologues, would-be emperors, warlords, the mad and the measured, over and over again."
–Philip Henscher, 12 Oct 2001, The Independent (London).

The recent tragedy has become very important because Afghans are neither terrorists nor do they support terrorists. On September 11th, Americans realized why Afghans left their homelands in search of finding peace through exile. Since 1992 when, in one day alone, more than 600 rockets slammed into Kabul before breakfast, killing thousands and reducing one-third of the city to rubble, Afghans have been living everyday with horrors that parallel September 11th.

With the emergence of the current rulers in Kabul and their Al-Qaeda guests, Afghans and Afghanistan have been the victims of political terrorism as exemplified by the countless human rights violations, cultural terrorism as witnessed by the desecration of Bamiyan's Buddhas, religious terrorism as defined by the yellow badge target on the clothes of Hindus, and gender and intellectual terrorism.

Basically, nuclear capable neighbors, drug cartels, antique smugglers, ethno/linguistic/religious warlords, and terrorists have hijacked Afghanistan. These competing interest groups have decimated Afghanistan's social, cultural, political, economic, and military institutions.

Post-September 11th Afghanistan

Since September 11th, there is this feeling that maybe there are political, economic and peace prospects for Afghanistan. However, for this to occur, the world community cannot simply go to Afghanistan, drop bombs and then wash its hands of any responsibility for what comes after. This only creates another vacuum similar to when the Red Army pulled out. Consequently, the Balkanization of Afghanistan would be initiated.

If Afghanistan is to become a thoroughly independent, just and modern state, ensuring civil liberties and social justice, it must embrace the spirit of piety, unity, forgiveness and commitment by Afghanistan's founding fathers.

In 1747, when the first king, Ahmad Shah Abdali (a Pashtun) was crowned by the mystic dervish Saber Shah Kabuli (a Tajik) and the different tribes came together to form Afghanistan, the early groundwork for power sharing was established in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, this unity has been weakened but if it is to become strong again-Afghanistan will need the support of Afghans and the international community.

Obstacles to Nation Building

What stands in the way of our progress?

It is a feeling of powerlessness, which I attribute to our feelings of self-hatred. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain how an entire nation with human and natural resources of a high order can continuously hurt themselves, continuously prevent themselves from accumulating the kind of power that brings self-respect and respect for others.

Assuming Afghans overcome the current stalemate, how can a people - any people - adopt a constitution? In this ratification process, will there be freedom of speech, press and peaceful assembly? Must not these rights be recognized ahead of time for the process to be valid? Must it not be recognized that the elected body has no right to decide how Afghans may worship their God? Must it not be understood that the elected body may not enslave and expropriate the minority or drive them into exile?

The idea of legitimate elected bodies is bound by prior mentioned ideas. Consent is given thereby not to the power of government but to the just powers of government. Is a functioning Afghan republic out of the question? It remains to be seen whether Afghans can make such a leap from the 11th century to the 21st century.

Assuming Afghans can overcome this obstacle as well, how will Afghans help build Afghanistan? Half of the Afghan population has an education in Islamic sciences. Most do not know anything about history, law, math, literature, or sciences-essentials of nation building. Which bring to question the role of technocrats, bureaucrats, military officers, educators, poets, engineers, merchants, and younger generations in exile. How many will give up their comfortable and western integrated lifestyles to devote to a long-term commitment in Afghanistan?

Assuming a majority of these Afghans are willing and able to repatriate for nation building, what might this nation building in Afghanistan look like?

Assuming that the nation building rebuilds the infrastructure and the future looks promising, what promises are there of lasting stability and the hope for freedom from foreign interference and political fanatics?

The West Berlinization of Afghanistan

I agree with Philip Hensher's comment that the "greatest and wisest act of recent history was the reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War, with Marshall Plan billions."

However, even if an Asian Marshall Plan can yield similar results for Afghanistan as it did for Germany, it comes down to the question: does the international community feel the responsibility to ensure that a democratic government and civil society in Afghanistan comes to power?

There needs to be another body or institution not related to Afghanistan's neighbors who can monitor and overview the establishment of a government in Afghanistan as was done in East Timor and Cambodia. The new Afghanistan cannot be a client state of its neighbors. It must be a government that ensures the civil liberty and social justice of all Afghans.

If it cannot do that, then maybe the UN should rule Afghanistan for a period of 2-4 years like in post-WW2 Germany so that the UN peacekeeping troops can assure the safety of Afghan, clear the mines, create civic centers, and generate open dialogue between Afghan intellectuals. Once this is done, there should be general elections.

However, it should not replace one horrific regime with an equally brutal rival. The US, Russia and EU need to help the UN against pressure from Iran, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia over their former playground Afghanistan.

Just as West Germany, more importantly, West Berlin, was used as a showcase for democracy, justice, and freedom against the Warsaw Pact; we can use similar frameworks to model Afghanistan to weaken, recruit, and win over the fanatics of the region.

The Prospect of the New Great Game

The new Great Game between oil companies and political fanatics has been brought on by globalization. This phenomenon described by Benjamin Barber as "McDonald's vs. McJihad" not only affects Afghanistan but the entire world. While globalization offers many benefits, its deadly costs are associated with oil politics and terrorism.

Whether a solution to this matter is found or not, this issue simply cannot be ignored. The Afghan intelligentsia must somehow address and implement the previously mentioned issues. Furthermore, if there is no mediating and involvement from a neutral arbitrator, all plans will fail and Afghanistan will start the 21st century with a new phase of bloodshed.

Like the Germans who mourned the destruction of Dresden and Berlin, Afghans mourn the decimation of Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif; but in the end, like the Germans, Afghans might see the prospects of a future filled with freedom and benefits outweighing the bombs that fell on them if they are treated like the Germans.

As German's past century shows, rebuilding physical and sociopolitical infrastructure is by far the best way to build up a people's stake in long-term stability. Sending humanitarian relief is good, but a long-term pace building is the key. The question remains: is there a plan for Afghanistan?

The answer may lie with an emerging player in the New Great Game. The new potential player is the Humanitarians and Samaritans of the world. As active players in the new game, many have been urging the UN and world powers to stop Afghan genocide, the terrorist camps, and support the creation of a democratically elected government in Afghanistan.

This message has been echoed since 1987, but to no avail. Now, UN involvement seems imminent. Nonetheless, before that, the blue helmets acting as peace soldiers and peace police officers need to create a civic space in Kabul. This is the only way a civil society can be reestablished and would ensure the return of exiled intellectuals, bureaucrats, and technocrats.

The success of any peace plan lies in the apprehension of the AK-47 hijackers, the underground economy CEOs, and their region sponsors. The solution lies in driving out the suppliers of hate in the market of ideologies. This can be achieved by the stabilization of a civil society in Afghanistan coupled with an Asian Marshall Plan. |