Topic: Foreign Policy
A Solution for Afghanistan by Jay Wendt
(centrist)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Over the recent months, there has been an on-going debate with regards to the War in Afghanistan. Some say we need more troops, some say we must withdraw, and others want to send more troops if there is a change in government. I would argue a gradual withdrawal and increased military aide, however only after a strong political and military leadership was established. However, as you have seen based on the massive fraud in the 2009 Presidential election, I do not see Hamid Karzai as a viable or strong leader. For that reason, I will argue that General Abdul Rashid Dostum should over throw the Afghan Government and establish a dictatorship similar to the one of Francisco Franco.
Dostum, as opposed to Karzai or any of the other prominent Afghan leaders, is a secular leader. When he ran his majority Uzbek territory during the Civil War, he encouraged women to live and work freely, as well as encouraging music, sports and allowing for freedom of religion. In fact, in area's of Dostum's control, women were able to go about unveiled, alcohol was sold freely, and the cinemas showed Indian films. Now considering most parts of Afghanistan are now reverting to near-Taliban Sharia law, we can see how heavily influenced the current government is by the Islamic clerics. Also, a little known fact, in Dostum's territory he issued his own currency that had a low rate of inflation and was performing better then the national currency; in effect, if Dostum came to power, we would not only have a secular leader, but one who understands finances running Afghanistan; almost like a totalitarian Ron Paul (lol, joke).
Militarily, Dostum is a brutal warrior who would not think twice about executing Taliban on sight. He has even been accused of suffocating as many as 2,000 Taliban prisoners in container trucks following the Taliban surrender at Kunduz. Although it is brutal and sickening to think about, Afghanistan needs that type of leadership. You cannot make an omlette without breaking some eggs, and the same is true with regards to building a stable government. If we gave Dostum the military means to crush the Taliban, within a year the rivers will be choked with dead Taliban and possibly Osama bin Laden's head on a pike in the middle of Kabul. The sad thing is, although many would be tortured and executed under a Dostum Regime, Afghanistan would become a functioning nation. Ironic, but true. Although horrible to hope for such an event to happen, but we must be realistic and accept that a Dostum government is necessary.
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Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2009-11-05 12:36:17
Hi Jay,
This is a confusing article. When you use the word "we" there is no way to tell to whom you are referring.
As a US citizen, I hope "we" (meaning US voters) can be realistic and accept that it is none of our business who leads any country besides our own. It is none of our business how that leader is chosen or how that leader chooses to worship or how they choose to relate to their citizens.
We as in Americans in general. Unfortunately, it is our business how the leader is chosen, primarily because we (as in Americans) are bumping billions of dollars building infrastructure and fighting the Taliban; and it is mostly America putting in money and personnel into that country. Besides, having such a coup is sometimes benefitial; look at Pinochet's Chile. A bad economy, and civil unrest before Pinochet's coup, afterwards a stable and growing economy. So, it is essential, from my viewpoint.
Posted By: Walt Thiessen
Date: 2009-11-05 14:58:35
You place a lot of faith in dictators, and you ignore all the dictators who did great harm to their countries economically (not to mention the fact that they tend to murder the innocent more often than they murder the guilty).
You also distort the facts about Chile, because civil unrest wasn't the problem in Chile before Pinochet. The problem, from the junta's point of view, was that Allende was left-wing, and Pinochet's junta was right wing. It was a clear power grab for ideological reasons.
It's also noteworthy that Pinochet's rule has been equated by scholars to the rule of Saddam Hussein, Nicolae Ceauşescu, Pol Pot and Ferdinand Marcos, all of whom certainly belong in the economic rebirth hall of fame, don't you think?
Posted By: Walt Thiessen
Date: 2009-11-06 03:28:45
There's also an interesting article about Pinochet from 2004 which notes that a Chilean government report showed that under his rule 35,000 people were tortured using tactics "ranging from sexual abuse using dogs, to forcing suspects to watch as family members were sodomised or slowly electrocuted." This is the kind of mentality you want to unleash on Afghanistan. That says a lot about your sense of ethics, decency, and humanity.
Don't give us nonsense about how bad the Taliban are as justification for dictatorship. 35,000 wrongs do not make a right. A solution that is as bad as or worse than the problem it purports to solve is no solution at all.
Before Pinochet's takeover, Chile was experiencing crippling strikes, which is a form of unrest. Also, Pinochet liberalized Chile's economy, appointing advisors educated by Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago; which has allowed Chile to have one of the most stable and profitable economies in western hemisphere.
Also, the conparison to Saddam Hussein, Nicolae Ceauşescu, Pol Pot and Ferdinand Marcos is a bit of an exaggeration, given the fact Pinochet willingly allowed the transition to democracy. In addition, if Pinochet's legacy is so horrible then why, according to most polls, will the next President of Chile be from a political partry that has embraced Pinochet?
And since someone has criticized my ethics and decency, then I must infer that you live in a dream world. I am aware Libertarians are mostly on this site, so I will infer most people want drug legalization. Given that herion and cocaine is responsible for so many deaths and people trapped in the living hell of addition, that should make you wonder the average Libertarian's sense of ethics, decency, or humanity.
Posted By: Ross Williams
Date: 2009-11-20 12:46:53
Walt? Seriously? Do you not understand that 3/4ths of the people on the planet are ruled by what we, in our insular West, consider dictatorships?
Your arguing about Allende versus Pinochet is strikingly reminiscent of any of the more futile and facile ontologies that ever plagued an undergrad. The rest of the world is run by dictators, and if we're ever to know what's going on in those parts of the world we have to deal with them.
...on their terms, largely. Which presupposes that in the vast gray area between some idealistic white of pure altruistic beneficence and its opposite of desperate black despair, it is better for those dictators to be on friendly terms with us.
RealPolitik: an idea we can survive with!
Yes, yes, I hear the gears grinding already. "But ...but... but... there's always an alternative!!" Right. And there is.
And that alternative is to be the World Police. Set ourselves up as the final moral arbiter on who can and who cannot be a leader of another country, and what they can and cannot do while holding that position.
Seeing as a large -- probably the largest -- share of our international "issues" arise from doing that very thing right now [and often at the request of those we end up policing], you want to do more?
It says bupkus about "ethics, decency, and humanity" to acknowledge that dictators exist, that we must deal with them, and that dealing with them is far, far easier if their goals and ours coincide. Telling anyone how they are allowed to accomplish the common goal is bossy and self-righteous -- which in PoliSci terms is called hegemony, and which does speak to ethics, decency and humanity.
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