Subject: NYT: Betray NA, Send In US Troops HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- [Like we couldn't see this coming. Much the same thing occurred in Manila in 1898.] New York Times November 14, 2001 U.S. Troops Must Go In By LARRY P. GOODSON ALTHAM, Mass. -- We are at a critical moment not only for Afghanistan, but for the United States. The Northern Alliance has proved itself a good proxy force, working in conjunction with American air power to drive the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces into disarray. But in a country whose recent history is one of warring factions and hostile ethnic divisions, America cannot allow Northern Alliance occupation of Afghan cities to become the order of the day. Before the alliance can become entrenched, we must send in our own soldiers ? in large numbers ? to enforce human rights and keep the peace. We may well need American troops as fighters to secure victory in the southern regions, too. The Taliban still have troops in their southern stronghold, around Kandahar. In these heavily Pashtun areas, the northern troops are unlikely to be welcomed as liberators. But beyond a military victory over Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the great opportunity for the United States now is to lead the rebuilding of Afghanistan in a way that convinces open-minded people in the Islamic countries that America is a force for good in the world. Yes, this is nation-building. State failure is the cause of Afghanistan's current woes, and by extension, many of the problems of the surrounding region. We must be active in Afghanistan until it is a functional nation once again ? one with a just sharing of power among its competing ethnic groups. Americans who still fear committing our troops need to know that this is not the Afghanistan of the past. In the 1980's the Afghan mujahedeen tormented their Soviet occupiers until the Soviets were finally forced out. But the mujahedeen had sanctuary in Pakistan, United States backing and the near-total support of the Afghan people. None of this applies to the Taliban. After the Taliban are driven from all the Afghan cities, their most dedicated elements might try to fight from mountain strongholds as guerrilla warriors. But without wide local support and help from the outside, they will be able to make only limited forays. There is a commanding humanitarian reason, too, for the quick entry of a large American force into Afghanistan. Our troops can provide a transitional military government over the winter months, one that can maintain law and order, collect heavy weapons from local militias, and facilitate the distribution of food, emergency supplies and reconstruction aid. United Nations troops and forces from many nations can help with the work of stabilizing and rebuilding. But only the United States has the ability to keep Afghanistan stable as it recovers from Taliban rule and then to stay the course through what should be a long reconstruction phase. Only the United States has the overwhelming national interest to pursue what is best for Afghanistan: all of Afghanistan's neighbors, but especially Pakistan, have their own, shortsighted political agendas in Afghanistan. For America, the goal must be to destroy the conditions that allowed Afghanistan to play host to terrorism. And a defeat of terrorism in Afghanistan would rob the world's terrorist movements of much of their momentum. The work of military engineers and civilian construction companies will be just as important as the combat campaign. Scenes of Afghan parents mourning their dead children, killed by stray American bombs, should be replaced by scenes of American soldiers feeding and clothing Afghan children and rebuilding their homes. Larry P. Goodson, an associate professor of international studies at Bentley College, is the author of "Afghanistan's Endless War." _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
