Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, April 26th, 2024

A Reiterated “Responsible Exit” That is Difficult

Taliban have been saying that withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan will bring an end to the war and fighting in this country. They have been stated this because they believe that with the help of terrorist networks and elements in the region they will be able to take over Afghanistan. The US president Barack Obama has said that they are trying to end the war in Afghanistan "responsibly."

British prime minister, David Cameron has also said that it is time to bring the war in Afghanistan to an end. He has also said that people in his country want their forces to return home. In the meanwhile, Cameron has acknowledged that democracy and development will not endure after the international forces pull out of the country.

But the current crisis situation shows that it will be extremely difficult for the international community to pave the ground for a "responsible exit." Responsible exit is not defined clearly on their part. But Afghan people believe that responsible ending of the war means to help bring peace, security and stability to their country.

Afghan government and international community are not in agreement on how things should be turned around. Afghan government is contributing to a possible debacle because of the rampant corruption that has plagued it and because of President Hamid Karzai's passion for clinging to power directly or indirectly.

President Karzai knows that since international community is abandoning Afghanistan, it is no more effective to play his card of showing himself as a democrat and it is time to use religion as a source to legitimize his decisions in preparation for the election in 2014, when international forces complete their withdrawal.

The fact that president Karzai has published Ulema Council's code of conduct, which is completely against women's rights even under a more human interpretation of Sharia law, indicates that president Karzai is willing to trade off over women's rights and the gains they have made over the last ten years.

So the lack of agreement and coordination between Afghan government and international community makes a much-emphasized responsible withdrawal difficult. Afghan government has lost public support, so there is not any chance for it to maintain the stability after international pullout.