The state of affairs in Afghanistan is changing by the hour, it seems, so as this is my last column ’til January, I’d like to squeeze in a few unsolicited opinions. Lord knows what the situation will be by the time winter break ends, and people start reading my rants when they should be listening to their professors’ lectures again.
First off, Bush needs to stop with this “with us or against us” stuff. It’s high time he comes to grips with the fact that much of the world does not like us, let alone agree with our policies. An “us or them” position will only back our Islamic allies against a wall, forcing them to choose between America’s friendship and support from Muslim religious leaders. Many of these countries have shaky governments at best, making religious support essential to their survival. What’s more, if enough predominantly Muslim countries take the “them” option, which is possible if their populations demand it, we will have a real war on our hands — and this is precisely what bin Laden wants. So shut up, George, and let other countries say they oppose us if they like. So long as they stay out of our way, which they most likely will, what harm can it do?
Secondly, Bush repeatedly stated that he is against “nation building” during the 2000 presidential campaign. If he has any desire to truly make the world a better, safer place, and not just avenge the deaths of the American citizens in New York, he’ll renege on this promise. I plead with conservatives and liberals alike: Let him renege. Don’t give him a hard time should he choose to take an active role in the rebuilding of Afghanistan.
The “enemies of our enemies are our friends ” policy of throwing financial support behind one side in a conflict has come back to bite us too many times to count. The Afghans will not set up a fair, representative government on their own. There are too many different tribes. Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Aimaks and others will all want a hand in a post-Taliban government. Pashtuns make up the majority of the country, but the Taliban are Pashtun, so there will be a desire to exclude them. The other tribes are minorities and won’t have broad enough support to rule the entire nation. Any effective government must include all the tribes. How about setting up a two-pronged legislature, like our own, with the upper house consisting of an equal number of representatives from each group and the lower house consisting of representation proportional to population? It would work, but it would take some serious “building.”
Thirdly, what is this garbage about secret military tribunals? Just a while ago I heard Ashcroft saying bin Laden and friends would not be tried in a real court. They won’t be able to drop through the cracks of the Afghan tunnels and caverns, he said, and they won’t be able to “drop through the cracks of the U.S. judicial system” either. Our judicial system is part of what makes America great. If the attorney general doesn’t have enough faith in our own judicial system to entrust to it the convictions of the most hated men in the West, what are we fighting for? As for bin Laden himself, everyone knows he’s the sworn enemy of the United States, and everyone knows he’s guilty of countless crimes. Shoot him on sight and be done with it.
There are a few other things I could complain about, but I haven’t the space. I wish everyone a belated happy Thanksgiving, and a merry Kwanzaa, Christmas, Ramadan, Hanukkah, solstice, et cetera, too. I’ll see you in the New Year.