The Hard Part Is Just Starting
June 22, 2002
After nine days of sometimes grueling debate, the 1,600 delegates of the Loya Jirga (photo) have packed up and headed home, leaving behind newly elected president Hamid Karzai with the duty of forging a democratic nation out of the ashes of war, famine and neglect.
He has made much progress toward that goal, uniting former foes and preaching the gospel of national unity, a rare quality in this land deeply divided along ethnic lines, with rival warlords traditionally jockeying for power. He helped set out a timeline for Afghanistan’s return to electoral democracy and has used his considerable charm to keep western powers on his side and western aid money flowing in.
But Afghanistan's problems are so entrenched that they will not be solved by good will and charisma alone. While Karzai has managed to restore a measure of tranquility to the country, he has done little to relieve its dire poverty.
Going Against Tradition
Educated in the West, Karzai would like to use technocrats and economic experts to pull Afghanistan out of destitution, but the realities of the country, where the gun still wields political power, have hampered him. It is the country’s tendency, learned over many years, to look to violence for quick solutions that Karzai must try to counter.
According to Klaus-Peter Klaiber, the European Union’s Special Commissioner to Afghanistan, that will start with figuring out how to deal with the warlords, former fighters of the Islamist Mujahideens who have little experience with democracy. One of the questions that did not get resolved during the Loya Jirga gathering is the role of the warlords in Afghanistan’s future, he told DW-TV.
"It is not clear what that role will look like and I think this is going to be one of the biggest challenges Karzai's government will face," he said.
They will play a role either for good or bad in making unruly Afghanistan a safer place. While Kabul itself may be calm for the most part, regions outside of the capital can be lawless places. Klaiber says that lack of any kind of rule of law in the countryside is hindering aid organizations that are reluctant to begin aid work before the anarchic situation settles down.
"They believe the security situation isn’t yet what it should be," he said. "So they hesitate going into some areas because they fear the aid wouldnt bedistributed properly."
Waiting For Aid
Western aid itself has become a point of contention. Officials say Afghanistan needs up to $15 billion of it to get back on its feet. Since the country has no industry or agriculture left, without western help the country could not begin to build schools, roads, hospitals and finance badly needed development projects.
But the government is still waiting for some $4 billion in foreign donations. Since Karzai knows that his success depends on the speed in which that money arrives as well as how efficiently it is used, it is no wonder he has joined other voices who are criticizing the west for holding up the promised financial help.
"I want to go back to the international community, Karzai said last week, "to ask for stronger, more effective and speedy delivery of aid."
Special Commissioner Klaiber has defended the European Union's aid programs, saying 50 percent of the amount promised has been delivered and the other 50 percent is being discussed. Now that Karzai has been elected president and put together most of his cabinet, western donors should be more willing to help get the work on the ground started.
"We are are having to start from the very beginning," he said. "But now that Karzai hasmade his priorities clear, like road construction and schools, I think now that the international community will be more intensively engaged in development work."
Such work is crucial for the war-weary country and its newfound peace. If Karzai fails to improve Afghanistan’s economic situation, the country’s fragile unity and his popular support could be short lived.
"The new president has won the hearts of almost everybody in Afghanistan, but this love will not last for long if he cannot deliver on his promises," political scientist Faizullah Salehi told Reuters. "And he is promising more than he can fulfil."