01/26/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09667

AFGHANISTAN RECOVERS

Afghanistan and its people are beginning to emerge from more than two decades of strife. The signs are encouraging. Schools will be re-opening. Roads are being repaired. International organizations and non-governmental organizations are returning. And the country no longer serves as a training ground for international terrorists.

The United States is committed to helping Afghanistan rebuild. At the International Conference for Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan, held in Tokyo, U-S Secretary of State Colin Powell came right to the point. He said, "This conference is not about rhetoric, it is about resources and about helping people in need." Mr. Powell said the U-S will give two-hundred ninety-six million dollars this year to the Afghan people for the reconstruction of their society.

The U-S isn’t the only contributor to an effort that is expected to require fifteen billion dollars over a ten-year period. Other major contributors include the European Union, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Many other countries are also giving generously.

America’s efforts will focus on -- as Mr. Powell put it -- "high impact projects that quickly create jobs, generate income, get money flowing through the economy again, rebuild critical infrastructure, and encourage the return of the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons."

America is also helping to restore Afghanistan’s agriculture. Afghan farmers must have alternatives to poppy cultivation in order to reduce drug processing and trafficking. Removal of land mines is also important for Afghanistan’s recovery. As Secretary of State Powell said, "Action in this area promotes public safety, helps to heal the wounds of war, facilitates the delivery of humanitarian assistance. . .and creates a secure and stable environment where political and economic freedom can thrive."

Reconstruction can’t take place without security. The reintegration into society of former combatants is vital. Afghanistan’s interim government must establish and train a national army and a police force that are under civilian control and that respect human rights.

President George W. Bush has made it clear that the United States will not abandon the people of Afghanistan. The U-S and other nations will work to help the Afghan people rebuild a politically stable, economically viable, and secure Afghanistan.