Afghanistan — VOICES for REASON

Regarding the newly announced Obama strategy for Afghanistan-Pakistan, I argued (in part one) that the administration’s solution is based on a misdiagnosis of the problem. Last time I focused on how the Afghanistan war was guided by a “compassionate” strategy that put concern for the welfare of Afghans ahead of the necessary goal of defeating the enemy. But in his speech, Obama assured the Islamists (which he evasively terms “terrorists”) that “we will defeat you.”

If only that were the focus of his strategy. But it’s not.

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In a speech announcing his “comprehensive, new strategy” for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama warned that “The situation is increasingly perilous. It has been more than seven years since the Taliban was removed from power, yet war rages on, and insurgents control parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Attacks against our troops, our NATO allies, and the Afghan government have risen steadily. Most painfully, 2008 was the deadliest year of the war for American forces.” He may well have been understating the magnitude of the problem, particularly in Pakistan (consider this recent brazen attack). And while both liberals and some conservatives have commended Obama’s strategy (with minor qualifications), I regard it as fundamentally misconceived.

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Rejecting a prosecutor’s demand for the death sentence, an Afghan court has sentenced two men to twenty years in jail for blasphemy. Their “crime”? “The men were convicted of modifying the Muslim holy book into Persian while not including the original Arabic text,” said a press report. “There is no law in Afghanistan prohibiting the translation of the Koran but modification is viewed as violating Islamic Shariah law.”

As I’ve said about a previous conviction (for distributing downloads from the internet thought to be critical of the Prophet Muhammad), you must expect such injustices when a nation’s constitution makes it a religious state (in this case, an Islamic republic). When the Bush administration invaded Afghanistan, its goal was not to end the theocratic rule of the Taliban and replace it with a secular government that protects individual rights.  Rather its stated policy was to promote “democracy.” The Bush administration succeeded. The Afghan government reflects the democratic will of the people. The people want to punish blasphemers, and their constitution allows them to do so lawfully.

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