{ "id": "RL31389", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL31389", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 101182, "date": "2002-07-11", "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:07:08.277941", "title": "Afghanistan: Challenges and Options for Reconstructing a Stable and Moderate State", "summary": "The U.S.-led effort to end Afghanistan's role as host to Osama bin Laden and other anti-western\nIslamic terrorists requires not only the defeat of the Taliban but also the reconstruction of a stable,\neffective, and ideologically moderate Afghan state. Otherwise, the country could continue to be a\npotential base for terrorism and a source of regional instability. An important milestone was\nachieved in June 2002 with the generally successful conclusion of an Emergency Loya\nJirga (\"grand\ncouncil\"), which confirmed Hamid Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun member of the western educated elite\nwith family ties to the former king as head of a Transitional Administration. Karzai, who previously\nheaded an Interim Administration formed in December 2001, is charged with organizing a\ngovernment, supervising the drafting of a constitution, and preparing for national elections to be held\nin December 2003.\n The Loya Jirga failed to satisfy many of the participants, especially Pashtuns, who\n feel under-represented in distribution of cabinet ministries, but more than 1,500 Afghans from\n all ethnic groups\nand walks of life had an opportunity to vent long pent up feelings and engage in free flowing debate\nabout the country's future. Karzai has gained the nominal support of major regional warlords, but\nhis authority remains dependent on support from the militarily powerful ethnic Tajik minority and\nhis status as a broadly acceptable figure who can attract international assistance. \n The Bush Administration and the Congress have indicated strong support for humanitarian\nrelief and reconstruction, but the nature of the longer term U.S. role remains to be determined. As\nof mid-2002, the Administration remained focused on the military campaign and resistant to\nextensive participation in \"nation building,\" a stance some in Congress say is too limited. In reality,\nU.S. forces have repeatedly played a de facto peacekeeping role in defusing conflicts among Afghan\nallies, and have sometimes become embroiled in local power struggles. Some Afghan warlords have\nbeen accused of causing mistaken attacks on civilians or pro-Karzai groups by providing false\nintelligence to American forces.\n Major obstacles to the goal of a stable and ideologically moderate Afghan state include: long-\n standing power aspirations of rival tribal and ethnic groups; the long-term decline of Afghan\n state\ninstitutions that began with the Communist/Soviet occupation decade of 1979-89, and accelerated\nunder the Taliban; the recent rapid increase in opium production and local power struggles for\ncontrol of the lucrative drug trade; and the resiliency of politicized Islam, as promoted both by the\nTaliban and other radical Islamist parties, which retains appeal to many Afghans. \n A stable and ideologically moderate Afghanistan is unlikely to be constructed without\nsignificant\nnear-term aid to reestablish security, relieve immediate economic distress, and provide alternate\nemployment for former combatants, and extensive and long-term reconstruction support from\nbilateral and multilateral aid donors. To date, aid actually delivered to the Kabul administration has\nbeen much less than promised. A stable Afghanistan also require that neighboring countries play\na constructive role, or -- at a minimum -- avoid interfering in the country's internal affairs.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31389", "sha1": "8d8f32e0bf5741a73331be96582b2a0591c70970", "filename": "files/20020711_RL31389_8d8f32e0bf5741a73331be96582b2a0591c70970.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31389", "sha1": "2cedd22e889073052498c8c0614be73bf28285f0", "filename": "files/20020711_RL31389_2cedd22e889073052498c8c0614be73bf28285f0.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs3327/", "id": "RL31389 2002-05-10", "date": "2002-05-10", "retrieved": "2005-06-12T02:16:03", "title": "Afghanistan: Challenges and Options for Reconstructing a Stable and Moderate State", "summary": "This report provides information on and analysis of the current situation in Afghanistan, taking into consideration the country\u2019s essential characteristics and political developments since about the time of the overthrow of the last Afghan King, Zahir Shah, in 1973, and sketches out four possible scenarios for Afghanistan\u2019s future. Finally, the report identifies and analyzes factors that will influence Afghanistan\u2019s political future, and discusses three policy areas in particular in which actions by the United States could be crucial to the achievement of the U.S. goal of a peaceful, stable, democratic, and terrorist-free Afghanistan. An appendix contains key documents relating to the December 2001 Bonn Agreement, which is the framework for current efforts to create a stable and democratic Afghanistan.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20020510_RL31389_f3305aa7991c0b2a67b93c7086bf9fa1fcc658f0.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20020510_RL31389_f3305aa7991c0b2a67b93c7086bf9fa1fcc658f0.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Politics and government", "name": "Politics and government" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Politics and government - Afghanistan", "name": "Politics and government - Afghanistan" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs3326/", "id": "RL31389 2002-04-24", "date": "2002-04-24", "retrieved": "2005-06-12T02:14:25", "title": "Afghanistan: Challenges and Options for Reconstructing a Stable and Moderate State", "summary": "This report provides information on and analysis of the current situation in Afghanistan, taking into consideration the country\u2019s essential characteristics and political developments since about the time of the overthrow of the last Afghan King, Zahir Shah, in 1973, and sketches out four possible scenarios for Afghanistan\u2019s future. Finally, the report identifies and analyzes factors that will influence Afghanistan\u2019s political future, and discusses three policy areas in particular in which actions by the United States could be crucial to the achievement of the U.S. goal of a peaceful, stable, democratic, and terrorist-free Afghanistan. An appendix contains key documents relating to the December 2001 Bonn Agreement, which is the framework for current efforts to create a stable and democratic Afghanistan.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20020424_RL31389_cce01f41ec11c542d9ae352e2ef1ff95f03eed19.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20020424_RL31389_cce01f41ec11c542d9ae352e2ef1ff95f03eed19.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Politics and government", "name": "Politics and government" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Politics and government - Afghanistan", "name": "Politics and government - Afghanistan" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Foreign Affairs" ] }