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Sat, Aug 8th 2009, 16:41

Wojciech Z. Kornacki, Oxford University, Bronze Contributor (18)

The international community is at war with Taliban in Afghanistan, but military forces by themselves will not create stability in Afghanistan. Similarly to Iraq, the international community must create conditions in Afghanistan where its government can stand up its own security forces. Military forces are ill equipped to do this by themselves. Instead, in the areas where Taliban is driven out, the United Nations, European Union, other IGOs and NGOs in cooperation with Afghan government should stand up local governments and create economic recovery programs through investment in infrastructure. The military forces should ensure that Taliban is on the ran and cannot infiltrate back into the regions liberated from it. A breathing space of a few years should allow Afghani local governments to grow strong enough to be able to establish its own police forces. The current policy of "clear, hold, build" follows this simple analysis. The withdrawal of German forces would not complete the mission and would waste the previous effort. It is better to have 100 % security in 50 % of the country than 50 % security in 100 % of the country. German forces can be more useful in ensuring 100 % security in the areas in which they serve in Afghanistan.