WASHINGTON: A two-day symposium organized by the US Marine Corps here recently examined current operations in Afghanistan from a comprehensive military and interagency perspective. This comes as the Obama administration prepares to send 17,000 additional troops to the troubled country.

Panelists from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US operational and academic worlds provided numerous perspectives of what is needed to accomplish the US mission in Afghanistan. The attendees agreed to speak to Arab News on condition they not be named.

Noting that the US has realized that traditional warfare will not work in the region against the terrorists, one Afghan official stressed that both Afghanistan and Pakistan need to work together to establish a functioning mechanism for cross-boarder cooperation.

This coordinated effort, the official added, must move beyond diplomatic gestures and confidence building and shift focus directly boosting government legitimacy and on dismantling the terrorist leadership there.

Many of the participants of the seminar aimed their sights on the problem of foreign contractors in Afghanistan who act as middlemen to the flow of aid into the country.

Money going to contractors “has been totally wasted,” another official said. “Afghans get 25 cents from every dollar of donor money spent there.”

Instead of chartering in foreign contractors, many at the symposium said the money should be used to create more jobs for Afghans, which keeps the aid money in the country where it can stimulate the economy.

Besides, said one participant, Afghans “prefer working with their own people, and prefer Afghan contractors on the ground rather than a foreign presence.”

Another highlight was for Americans to help the Afghans build up their security forces to enable them to defend their own country.

Afghanistan “welcomes an increased troop presence as long as it improves Afghans’ lives by protecting the population and delivering basic services,” said a former Afghan minister.

“If the presence of foreign troops does not improve daily lives, then it will turn the Afghans against them and toward the insurgents.”

Noting that ordinary Afghans who chose to support the Taleban do so for financial support or due to an absence of choice, an Afghan diplomat said: “Americans need to make clear that they are not going to abandon the Afghans,” and added that “the Afghans are not going to put their lives on the line if they’re not sure the US is going to deliver.”

The diplomat emphasized that Afghans are not attracted to the Taleban’s version of an Islamic state, but underscored the importance of US troops not being “so intrusive” that Afghan nationalism kicks in to work against them. And they certainly do not want to end up in another “Great Game,” he added, referring to the strategic Cold War rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union.

Regarding Afghanistan’s upcoming elections in August, an Afghan panelist warned: “Afghanistan is at a tipping point.”

Elections, he said, “will either produce greater stability or more risks. We must ensure a level playing field with the major candidates getting equal access.”

Education was also a major focus of the symposium. A major misjudgment had been made back in 2001, noted one NGO, when “the US government determined that it should only invest money in primary education, to age 11, and not secondary schools. Urgent corrective measures are now needed to ensure that Afghan skill training is taking place.”

Afghanistan has only known war since 1979 and today much of the population cannot read or write.

“Many define the Taleban as unemployed youths,” said the panelist.

It is essential to get funds directed to the villages without reliance on the NGOs, said the panelist. “There is a need to show trust that the Afghans are capable to do this. Governance is a moral enterprise, which is why accountability is essential.”

Most of the experts present stressed the importance for the American public to understand that the Afghan people want security.

“We need to send the message that the US is there to liberate rather than occupy Afghanistan,” said one expert.