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July 19, 2010
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Posted: July 19, 2010 12:01 PM
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Supreme Court Ruling Impacts Peacebuilding
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-schirch/supreme-court-ruling-impa_b_6487
47.html> in Afghanistan
Here on the dusty streets of Kabul, the recent Supreme Court decision
prohibiting nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from teaching negotiation
and peacebuilding to members of the Taliban because it is deemed "aiding and
abetting a terrorist organization" doesn't make sense. I expected some loss
of freedom as an American in a foreign country during a war. I did not
expect my own government to take away my freedom to work for peace here in
Kabul.
The Supreme Court's ruling
<http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65K4B420100621> that that it is
constitutional for Congress to ban any kind of "support" to designated
terrorist organizations, even training in negotiation strategies that would
help groups move away from a reliance on violence, makes a number of false
assumptions.
First. The ruling reinforces the idea that communicating with a group like
the Taliban about negotiation strategies legitimizes their cause. This is a
weak theory. Negotiation is a strategy for dealing with adversaries. It
presumes disagreement. Far from legitimating armed groups, history shows
that negotiation training of all armed-groups has been an essential
component in the peace processes of almost every civil war in the last
twenty years.
Second. The ruling assumes that NGOs conducting negotiation training are a
significant factor in the legitimization of terrorist groups. The major
forces legitimating the Taliban cause are threefold: Western contractors
continue to pay the Taliban huge sums of money to protect their supply lines
and development projects. Neighboring countries like Pakistan continue to
receive US military aid while many continue to insist they are sending
resources to the Taliban to destabilize Afghanistan. However, the hordes of
Western media who descended on Afghanistan and Pakistan in the days after
September 11 to explain to Western audiences "Why they hate us." may be the
worst culprits in legitimating and increasing popular support for the
Taliban. Congress' current laws guiding the War on Terror are woefully
inadequate to cut off the funding and halt legitimization of groups like the
Taliban. They are also counterproductive to the positive work NGOs do to
curtail terrorism.
Third. The Supreme Court's decision -- which supports Congress' vague law on
what constitutes material support to terrorist groups -- assumes that groups
like the Taliban have no legitimate grievances that could be pursued through
political channels rather than the battlefield. While NGOs have no sympathy
for the repressive Taliban agenda on human rights, there is wide recognition
here in Afghanistan of the legitimate Taliban frustration with the current
Afghan government's rampant corruption and warlords.
Fourth. This week's decision makes an assumption that government personnel
are the only ones skilled enough in diplomacy to engage a group like the
Taliban. Only a handful of US diplomats have training in principled
negotiation and peace processes. Yet dozens of people like myself have PhDs
in conflict resolution and decades of experience promoting negotiation and
peace in war zones around the world. I serve my country's interest in global
peace and security, but I am not an employee of the US government. As
American citizens, we deserve the right to practice our profession of
conflict resolution between armed groups. It is counterproductive for the US
government to block our efforts and presume that our efforts are contrary to
its interests.
While the Supreme Court has made its decision, US lawmakers still have an
opportunity to remedy this repressive law. US laws should specify more
precisely what types of communication are and aren't allowed with terrorist
groups. Countries such as Canada and Switzerland allow their citizens to
provide negotiation training but not other forms of assistance to terrorist
groups that could result in violence. As an American citizen working in
Kabul, I hope my country's leaders think about the costs of their current
counterterrorist policies and give me back my freedom to work for peace.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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