Afghanistan is proving itself as a nation that is emerging fromcivil turmoil to become a strong parliamentary democracy, aWashington-based attorney said Wednesday.
David Isby is a Columbia University graduate who has written andedited 20 books and more than 350 articles. Isby worked as anadviser to the U.S. government on issues such as national securityand policy support.
"Afghanistan is a wonderful country, great people, and the factthat it's been a total mess makes it even more fascinating," Isbysaid.
As a Soviet specialist, Isby said he attributes the demise ofAfghanistan to the Soviet takeover in 1978. Soviet communismtransformed the previous Kingdom of Kabul into a civilly unsoundAfghanistan.
The takeover lead to in civil war from 1989 to 1992. Isby saidthat the Taliban took advantage of Afghanistan's vulnerable stateafter the civil war and came to power in 1994. It is because of theUnited States' involvement after Sept. 11 that Afghanistan isfinally on the road to recovery, he said.
The election on Oct. 9 was a success because a large turnout andvoter registration for the election, Isby said. The winner, HamidKarzai, was the previous interim president and is in good standingwith aid donors including the United States.
Another factor in the success of the election is that the othereighteen parties are complaining but no violent action has beentaken up to this point, Isby said.
"They understand that confronting Karzai is not going to lead tosuccess," he said. Isby also said he believes that the otherparties are going to remain politically opposed to becomingviolent.
The current violence in Afghanistan is mainly on the border withPakistan because of a deep hatred between tribes in the twocountries, he said. Also, Pakistan is concerned that Afghanistanwill export its limited resources to a competing country, such asIndia.
"It would be much better to have Pakistan as a friend instead ofan adversary," he said, "but it's doubtful."
Although the election was ultimately a success, Afghanistanstill faces many issues before it can establish itself as aparliamentary democracy. The country's issues include landrestoration, politics and patronage, international support andrelations and economy.
"Afghan democracy, with external support from the United Statesand world communities, can survive and indeed flourish," Isbysaid.
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