Hopes and Fears in Afghanistan

Thanks to Wikicommons.

It is hard to find good news in Afghanistan these days.

It is the longest war in US history… allies are leaving… and there are reports that the Taliban is stronger than ever.

Yikes.

But there is at least one  remarkable success story coming out of Afghanistan.It’s the daring tale of a Non-Governmental Organization that risks life and limb to help citizens of Afghanistan:

Nearly every other civilian foreigner has fled Kandahar. Some have taken refuge inside nearby NATO bases, others have retreated to comparably calmer Kabul. But not Team Canada, despite the rash of bombs and targeted killings that torment this crucial southern city. They are working under the radar to rapidly turn tens of millions of international aid dollars into jobs for thousands of Afghan men.

Even with organizations such as this and US Government programs to improve the Afghan economy it will take more to stabilize this country.

One direction that the US may be heading is to find peace through negotiations with the Taliban, as noted by Faheem Haider at Foreign Policies Afghanistan blog, who questions this solutions merit as if

we talk about negotiating with the Taliban we are in effect talking about something like partitioning Afghanistan into two enclaves. We are ceding to them real estate they are likely to win in any case.

He continues noting that

What good is settled peace when the people concerned with peace are at war?

A similar conclusion is reached by a military contractors blog, Kandahar diary, who concluded after an interview with a local Afghan that

there will be no end to this war.  When the west is gone and the people of Afghanistan are left to themselves, men like him and their sons and their sons’ sons and their nephews, brothers and uncles will fight on, avenging age-old injustices and tribal and family honour.

Does this mean that there is no positive future for the country or can organizations such as “Team Canada” pull the Afghanistan back from the brink.  Frankly we have no idea.  Maybe you, our readers, can help enlighten us.