The killing of Gayle Williams is a blow to NATO’s reconstruction strategy in Afghanistan, wrote The Independent in an editorial yesterday. Excerpts: NGOs providing help with reconstruction were always an integral part of the NATO strategy for Afghanistan. The thinking was that the military would clear the terrain and secure it, and civilian aid workers would then come in with imaginative projects to improve the infrastructure and ease everyday life for ordinary people. Success here was seen as essential to convince Afghans that NATO forces were not hostile and that the intervention was worthwhile.
For many reasons, including the separate national military groups operating in Afghanistan under the NATO umbrella, and the many NGOs operating in different parts of the country, the reality has been rather different. A lack of cohesion between the military and civilian efforts has led to confusion on the ground. Reconstruction is still pitifully underfunded and remains at an elementary stage. But some reconstruction is still better than none. If insurgents terrorize the NGOs out of the country, it will be a disaster for Western policy and for the many Afghans who stood to benefit. The territory — in every sense — will have been ceded to the Taleban. Unless reconstruction can be made more effective, seven years of Western intervention will be seen as leaving only penury and disorder in its wake. As NATO reviews its operations in Afghanistan, dovetailing the military and civilian efforts must be a priority.
