What is success in Afghanistan?

What is success in Afghanistan? Is it the destruction of the Taliban? Is it a country which looks and acts like the countries who took it over? Is it a country who doesn’t erupt into civil war the second we leave? The real answer will likely never be known and the measure of success will likely be defined differently in different countries. Canada could say that the country isn’t a  poor country anymore and America could say that its not a safe haven for terrorists anymore.

We as Canadians, how do we define when we have won and it is time to remove our soldiers from the country and out of harms way. It’s now 2012 and it looks as if Harper will extend the training mission on which 900 soldiers are on. Canada is under increasing pressure from NATO and the US to keep its trainers in the country. They are also under pressure to provide more cash for the Afghan National Army and Police force. That cash payment could be around 100 million on top of the 14 billion its expected to cost Canada for the war itself. These all add up to the growing distaste in the country for this war which has raged on from 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. This is now the longest war that Canada or the US has ever served in and will continue for another 2 years minimum. We have lost 158 Canadian soldiers lives in this war and had one of the highest deaths rates of any NATO country.

One thing that Canadians didn’t hear about enough with this war was the good that Canadian soldiers and reconstruction teams were doing. The Canadian government focuses on health, women and energy as its main pillars for the project it would help to rebuilt. The government helped pay for a number of school’s only for girls who were prevented from attending school under the Taliban government. While these schools took a while to get going they were eventually filled and lots of little girls have been getting there education to try and get a better life. It hasn’t been all smooth sailing for these schools though, they have been targeted because they teach girls and on one instance they were gassed by the Taliban. These have been blemishes on the overall impact that these schools have made for these girls. Is that a victory for Canada then? A new generation of women being able to attend schools and provide a better life for themselves and there families. Likely yes, but is it enough to call the whole war a victory?

Healthcare was a big issue for Canada in this war. They wanted to provide more doctors and health to the people of Afghanistan. They sent out missions to villages that likely had to walk hundreds of KM to see a doctor when sick. Canadian soldiers took in wounded afghans when they came to the bases and treated them for free. They helped to train afghan doctors and nurses to replenish the healthcare system. Before the Taliban government 30% of doctors were female and 50% of teachers were female. All kicked out of their jobs because it didn’t work with there reading of the Qur’an.The missions that Canadian troops went out on to provide medical aid was also dangerous for the Afghans. Many times they were told not to accept help from the western troops for threats of torture or death. Many areas received healthcare that normally wouldn’t have and likely many people were saved because of Canadians actions. Is that a victory for Canada? I would say its a small one but overshadowed by the number of afghans killed by accidents or Taliban killings.

Energy was another pillar for the Canadian government to help try and bring the people of Afghanistan out from the ‘stone age’ and bring them into the 21st century. The government took on a number of programs like the Danha dam project and funded a number of smaller companies which provided solar panels for businesses and houses. The Danha dam was built in the 1950 but left to rot during the years of war and corrupt government. The Canadian government seen this as an opportunity to rebuild the dam and provide not only hydro electric power but irrigate the farm lands below. This has been a major project for the Canadian government and been a top priority. Having spent around 50 million on this the dam is close to completion and should be providing energy and irrigation for the area. This should help the local farmers provide a more bustling crop output and help them to bring in more money. The energy will also help to modernize the area and keep the lights on in Kandahar. One of the smaller companies that they funded helped to install solar panels on people’s homes. This brought electricity to areas which had never seen it in there lives. One house which received the solar panel was a small company that built rugs from their homes. They usually were only able to build by the light of the sun but with the energy they were expecting to build longer and provide more money for the families and workers. Is this a victory? I would say yes, it will likely have a impact on these people lives way beyond when Canadians leave.

The real questions still need to be asked. Will the country collapse into civil war once the NATO countries leave and erase all which has been done. This is always a possibility, the Taliban would more then love to take over the country again and bring it back into sharia law. I think that they would be up for a fight with the Afghan national army growing stronger each day but that the leadership at the top is the weak point. Corruption has been a big issue and they could likely be working with the Taliban to keep themselves in power. Its possible that it could be a short return to Taliban government if the top is weak but a battle between the ANA and the Taliban would likely be a Taliban loss. The Afghan economy is really dependent on foreign aid and that is a huge problem. While there was a boom in the area or housing construction and construction funded by the NATO countries. The Afghan government will need to find a way to fund projects and the police/army to keep things from falling apart. There is suspected to be a large amount of mineral wealth and possibly oil which if developed could help to keep the economy running.

I think that a country that looks and acts like us isn’t something that we can expect and that if we try that it will fail. Afghanistan is a country with a long and violent history and 10-15 years will not change a lot but we can help to change a little. We can instill democracy and fair/free elections and rights for all people including women. I think if we try to model them after us then it will lead to a failure.

This war is one that is hard to measure success because its a whole new type of war. Its not defeating the German army or removing Hitler, its not defeating communism or USSR. This is trying to rebuild a country and bring it from thousands of years of fighting to a calmness. I think that you would consider this war a success by the fact it can handle itself, fight for itself and feed itself. So if that is the case then this war has not been won and wont be for a long time. We would likely need to stay for hundreds of years and keep pumping money into this country to keep it going on the right path. 11 years isn’t enough to rebuild something of this magnitude.

So should we extend our mission in Afghanistan from 2014? I would say yes but it would need to have a number of checkpoints in which we could leave if they haven’t been attained. The Canadians are in Afghanistan to rebuild the army and the police force, they are trying to attain a number if which they feel could safely control the country. So if we were to stay till 2018, they would need to control a majority of the country and reduce the amount of dependency on foreign aid by 50%. I would support the continuation of the training mission if they can provide real targets for the future and be able to meet them. Allowing companies from Canada to come in and develop the area would also be a good thing for keeping our troops in there. I think i agree with keeping our troops in there and making sure Afghanistan doesn’t collapse because of what a soldier said “If we don’t do the job now, and do it properly then my kids will be there in 30 years and I don’t want that”

What do you think?