With America making impressive military progress in Afghanistan, it’s vital to lay the groundwork for another victory there: winning the peace.
When fanatic terrorists massacred thousands of men, women and children three months ago today, it was almost impossible to envision the kinds of scenes that have occurred since then in Afghanistan: the Taliban on the run, civilians rejoicing in the streets over liberation and women returning to school and work.
America is a long way from winning the overall war against terrorism. And we are perhaps even farther from regaining any sense of normalcy for ourselves and, especially, those who lost loved ones in the mass murders.
Yet, the first phase of America’s response has gone amazingly well. All of the Taliban’s major cities have fallen. We may have troops near where Osama bin Laden is likely hiding. The Bush administration has done an excellent job of holding together an international coalition without letting diplomatic maneuvers slow down its military decision-making. In Afghanistan, not only are bin Laden and Taliban leaders fleeing for their lives, but an interim government also is taking shape.
In his first interview after arriving in Khanndahar, the prime minister of the Afghan interim government, Hamid Karzai, urged America Monday to never again "walk away from Afghanistan." That’s good advice.
The world is so interconnected in every sense, including moral, that the troubles of one nation become the concerns of other nations. If we ever were able to ignore the rest of the world, Afghanistan is the perfect illustration of how even the most remote place can affect the entire globe. Indeed, the evil directed from there on Sept. 13 killed not just thousands of Americans but also hundreds of citizens from dozens of other countries.
The response, too, has come from around the world. Other countries are helping in Afghanistan, particularly with logistic and humanitarian support. The hunt for terrorists extends around most of the globe, including Kenya, where authorities held a suspected member of the al-Qaida network on Monday.
Particularly in Afghanistan, however, the United States must take responsibility for assuring that adequate amounts of aid arrive and that diplomatic efforts give Afghanistan a real chance at a functioning government. That level of involvement may be a burden, but it is one that is far preferable to letting evil take its course.
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