History shows that dominant geopolitical powers often seriously misunderstand other parts of the world upon which they seek to impose their will and policies. As President George Bush and his loyal British sergeant Tony Blair, draw up their plans to expand their campaign against global terrorism, they could learn a lesson from a quiet, unprejudiced period of reflection on what is happening at this moment in both Afghanistan and Palestine. In each place, horrors are being visited upon the local populations, in the first by nature and in the second by a bigoted government whose fanaticism and brutality is a match for any Al-Qaeda outrage.
However if Bush and Blair took the time for quiet contemplation, they would see that in both countries, despite the awfulness of the tragedy they are enduring, there is an indomitable spirit that is sustaining the people in the face of overwhelming adversity. Both the Afghans around Nahrin in the earthquake-stricken province of Baghlan and the Palestinians could already have buckled beneath the onerous weight of years of misfortune. But they have not.
For the Afghans, the response to last week’s devastating earthquake may even prove to be a turning point for the country. Too often in the past, when some region far from Kabul, the capital, has been beset by disaster, the central government has seemed indifferent. Time was, when it could have taken weeks for any sort of relief operation to be coordinated.
To its credit, the interim Afghan administration of Hamid Karzai has acted with commendable speed. Though aftershocks have continued and the last of the winter weather poses formidable logistical problems, Kabul was quick to provide help. Fortunately international relief agencies were already poised to repatriate tens of thousands of refugee families, driven from their homes by famine and fighting. These organizations were, therefore, able to shift their focus and redeploy food and shelter aid to the stricken region.
Of more importance, Karzai was able to persuade the international military forces in his country to supply the heavy-lift helicopter capability necessary to carry aid over blocked passes to precisely where it was needed. It would now be very wrong for the international military to withdraw this heavy lift facility, as soon as it becomes clear that the worst of the earthquake emergency is past. If the air transport that they have been able to deploy for disaster relief is needed for operational purposes,, then it must surely be possible to bring in extra aircraft.
The Afghans in Baghlan province have greeted foreign troops who have come to help them with both gratitude and dignity in the midst of their own terrible troubles. It should not be doubted that when the immediate difficulties are over, these indomitable people will be quite prepared to get on by themselves with the job of rebuilding their lives. But that is not really the issue. Stability and prosperity will return to Afghanistan the quicker, if no effort is spared to help them. That help should include the military heavy lift capability to bring in foods, rebuilding materials, seeds and tools. The war against natural disaster needs to be prosecuted every bit as vigorously as the war against terrorism.
