Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld conducted a briefing in the Pentagon today in which referring to the success of the US operations in Afghanistan, he said that that country was no more a haven for terrorists or terrorist training. He further referred to the fact that Afghanistan is liberated from the Taleban regime.

While US forces continue to stay on in Afghanistan and efforts to drive out patches of Taleban and Al-Qaeda from certain areas in the country continue, in general it would seem that the US military mission in Afghanistan is nearing its end. But many political observers believe that for a number of reasons a complete US military pull out of Afghanistan at this stage is premature.

Security in the country is at its lowest. Infighting between groups that replaced Taleban military power in certain provinces and regions continues. The central government has so far been unable to do anything more than issuing of official warnings against the renegade warlords especially in the South of the country. The United Nations Assistance and Security Forces, stationed in Kabul have only been able to maintain relative security in the capital. Breaches of security have been catastrophic. The recent explosion in Jalalabad that resulted in the death of 26 people and injured more than 80 persons is just one example. An Afghan national army is still awaited to be trained and launched.

Meanwhile, huge catches of arms, as described by the Secretary of Defense in his Pentagon briefing, have been collected by the US military. Based on Afghan informers' reports about the location and sometimes types of these weapons the US military forces in Afghanistan were able to do the collection. The US forces have either destroyed items that were considered to be very old and inoperative or stored some for a national Afghan army. In that connection some reports have mentioned that these were given to the Afghan Ministry of Defense that is presently controlled by its defense minister, a member of the Northern Alliance and the Jamiat Party.

In the absence of reliable security in the country and due to the weaknesses of the central authority to enforce its rules, many of the reconstruction efforts including local and foreign investment projects have remained in abeyance or postponed. Even most necessary public works and social service projects remain in the imagination of the well- wishers of Afghanistan.

Reports also talk about difficulties and problems regarding the materialization of the financial assistance pledged for the reconstruction of the country. One example quoted was the need to reparation of the Kabul-Kandahar Highway that the Asian Development Bank had promised to fully finance. It is now reported that the bank has somehow reconsidered to extend the money for the project, not as grant, but as loan. The transitional government authorities are perplexed. They have so far hesitated to accept a loan for the repayment of which they cannot see any possibility at this time. This is one of the typical problems regarding foreign aid. Other issues related to foreign aid is the hesitancy on the part of the donors to extend financial help knowing that most of it would go into the salaries of public officials in different government ministries instead of reconstruction and rehabilitation projects. Where are these projects and who are working on them? There is no clear indication as to who really is responsible for taking up the challenge. Depending on which minister is closer on which day with the president, the responsibility and power shifts from ministry to ministry almost constantly. In a stable government for the people this should not be so. For example while there is a ministry for reconstruction in the framework of the government, institutions for planning for it are under the control of the ministry of finance. Now, is it the minister of finance or the minister of reconstruction to start up the urgent work of Afghanistan's rehabilitation? Or is the minister of planning to do all this?

Thus the need for a policy analysis organization becomes eminent. Such an organization would need, in addition to a plan of action, acceptance by the government, technical expertise and more so a thorough knowledge of the country's social, cultural and political matrix. Therefore the role of educated Afghan scholars wherever they may be comes to bear in mind.

Now that the country has been rid of Al-Qaeda and has been liberated from the dark rule of Taleban, the nation is hopeful, not to mention being direly in need, for reparation, establishment and reconstruction of the country's infrastructure. This would provide Afghans with beneficial employment, improve their lot, boost their moral, strengthen their hope for unity and peace and reassure them of their and their children's prosperity in a new Afghanistan that has emerged from the ashes of a quarter century of war.

And now that the original objectives of the US military have been greatly met, it can play an important role in the country's efforts for rebuilding and reconstruction.. It can, as it has been suggested and requested time and again by the president of the transitional government expand its term of reference to building and maintaining of peace and providing for the security that is direly needed for the launching of socio-economic resuscitation of Afghanistan. This should not be very difficult either, because the US Congress is for it, the transitional government of Afghanistan wants it and the Afghan nation needs it for the start up of the process of rehabilitation of their economy and social conditions.

Now that Afghanistan is no more a haven for terrorist training let it be a peaceful center for humanitarian assistance and economic development. 8/9/02