The Afghanistan Commission is a government organization which was set up by President Hamid Karzai. Its purpose seems to be to set the stage and do the groundwork necessary to get the new government operational. Each member was hand picked by President Karzai so this tells me that it will serve to rubber stamp whatever he wants it to do. Be that as it may the commission is releasing suspected Taliban fighters who have been captured by the United States and NATO. I am not evaluating this strategy yet, but I do want to say that it can go one of two different ways. It can go over very well and be a great success, or it may be a bust and lead to the undoing of the new government.
The suspects are held by the US when they are captured but when they are turned over to the Afghan government the government has the choice of how they take care of the problem. So far the commission has chosen to set most of them free.
There are good and negative points which can be made about this strategy. First of all there are many captured Taliban fighters. Most of them were fighting for what they perceived to be a good cause. If they can be convinced that serving their country under the new government will be a good cause then they can be a definite asset to the country. The new government can ill afford to have thousands of disgruntled citizens within its ranks. There will always be unhappy citizens but if president Karzai can make amends without giving away the farm then the situation will work out for the better.
These men will be more useful if they are repatriated back into society and put to work. If he can do so without negative consequences, President Karzai should make every effort to unite his countrymen and make them a part of a thriving, functioning society. All hard feelings from the war need to be put aside as soon as possible and this is an excellent way to do so.
President Karzai has made some diplomatic moves in the past that I feel have been brilliant and this may just be another one. If he manages to pull it off it will definitely help the new government to be able to stand on its feet very quickly.
Now on the other hand there are many things that may cause this action to backfire on him. The worst case scenario is that it could cause the collapse of the new government and an instability that that region has never known before if it doesnt work out. I realize why the United States and NATO dont want higher level Taliban fighters to be repatriated. The leaders of the Taliban want total control of the country so they will be much harder to appease than the lower level fighters. If top level Taliban leaders are allowed to remain in a new Afghanistan the question is what will they do? I personally believe that they will attempt to foment division just as those fighters are doing who were left in Iraq. Their intentions wont change just because they dont win the war. They know how to organize resistance to the government and they just may successfully topple It if left unchecked.
President Karzais solution to this is to offer them positions of power in the new government. This tactic may or may not work. He knows his countrymen so Im going to choose to believe that his way of doing business may work. He has been in negotiations with many of the Talibans leaders already and he may have established a plan of action which may include them in the decision making responsibilities of the new government. The jury is out on this one. We will keep our eyes on this situation and attempt to keep you abreast of it as much as possible.
Military Ring Express
