Afghanistan on the edge of abyss -- PART I

Today, Afghanistan is entrenched in a slugfest with terrorists, insurgents and drug traffickers. The country is struggling to embrace democracy, develop economically and build a sustainable civil society following three decades of turmoil.

But while Afghanistan is not in as bad a shape as Iraq was in the summer of 2006 when Iraq was in a dangerous, seemingly irreversible downward spiral, Afghanistan has not yet completely escaped that fate.

Indeed, in September congressional testimony, top Pentagon brass gave a very sobering assessment. For instance, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said he is “not convinced we’re winning” and “time is running out” to stabilize Afghanistan.

Focused attention and a concerted effort by the United States and its coalition partners, especially NATO, will be required to keep Afghanistan from looking — indeed, falling — into an Iraq-like abyss.

Despite the current challenges in Afghanistan, there has been real progress since U.S. and coalition forces invaded in the weeks after the attacks of September 11, according to the Bush administration.

Beginning in late 2001, the United States and its partners helped topple the Taliban, ending their repressive rule over large parts of Afghanistan and its support for Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida acolytes.

Since then, with international assistance, President Hamid Karzai’s government has set about building infrastructure, providing education, doling out health care and establishing security services such as the Afghan police and army.

For instance, before 2002, Afghanistan had only tens of miles of paved roads and fewer than 1 million children attended school. Today, there are more than 1,000 miles of road and 6 million kids attend school — one-third of them are girls.

In support of this effort, 60,000 coalition troops, including 30,000 Americans with overwhelming fire power, provide security, working alongside Afghanistan’s 60,000-man national army and 80,000 police. In fact, according to Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher, “Broad swaths of Afghanistan are hardly recognizable in contrast to where they were in 2001.”

While this is undoubtedly true, especially considering Afghanistan’s constant state of turbulence since the Communist coup and Soviet invasion in the late 1970s, much work remains to be done.

The Muslim country of more than 30 million has no shortage of needs: Illiteracy exceeds 70 percent; more than half live in poverty; unemployment hovers near 40 percent; and life expectancy averages the mid-40s, according to the CIA.

A September State Department Travel Warning cautioned that no part of Afghanistan should be “considered immune from violence ... Afghan authorities have a limited ability to maintain order and ensure the security of citizens and visitors.”

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