Afghanistan's deeper challenge
As President Trump launched a 鈥渘ew strategy鈥� in Afghanistan this week, there are signs of progress on an issue he did not target but that is perhaps even more important to Afghanistan鈥檚 future 鈥� the battle to ease the burdens of corruption.
Last week, a highly ranked general and a key businessman 鈥� Gen. Mohammad Moeen Faqir and Abdul Ghafar Dawi 鈥� were tried, convicted, and sentenced in an anticorruption court. 鈥淭hese cases show that money and power are not a guarantee,鈥� Attorney General Farid Hamidi . 鈥淲e still do not have complete justice in Afghanistan, but we no longer have complete impunity.鈥�
The burden of corruption on hopes and aspirations can feel heavy indeed. Ill-gotten gains may seem the way of the world. But聽moral courage and truth聽can find space, sometimes where we least expect them. And when they do, history can turn.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani made anticorruption a priority when he came to office. For instance, he has established anticorruption courts tasked with issues ranging from bribery and tax collection to false licenses and the rights of retirees.
鈥淭his is the most progress they鈥檝e seen in a long time,鈥� says Earl Anthony Wayne, a former deputy ambassador to Afghanistan and global fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington.聽
It became clear early in the 16-year Afghanistan War that rampant corruption in the country significantly affected US efforts to bring stability. President George Bush鈥檚 efforts to stifle the nation鈥檚 drug economy backfired, and President Barack Obama鈥檚 repeated calls on then-President聽Hamid Karzai to crack down on corruption fizzled.
President Trump鈥檚 blueprint for America鈥檚 longest war聽explicitly rejects 鈥渘ation-building鈥� as a goal.聽It involves a mini-surge of US troops, an end to arbitrary time limits for deployment or withdrawal, and a notice to Pakistan that supporting terrorists will no longer be tolerated. But longtime Afghanistan-watchers say that building confidence in government and rule of law can be one of the most effective antiterror strategies.聽
鈥淗elping foster the development of accountable institutions that are responsive to the people and subject to a relatively equitable rule of law is critical,鈥� says Sarah Chayes, senior associate in the Democracy and Rule of Law Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 鈥淚nstead, we empowered and reinforced a mafia government, racked by cronyism.鈥� Her book on the costs of corruption, 鈥淭hieves of State,鈥� is based on her 10 years working in Afghanistan, including as an adviser to the US military.
Some of the push for serious anticorruption measures is coming from donors impatient with seeing billions in aid landing in corrupt private hands. But worldwide, a new generation of young people 鈥撀爁rustrated with seeing their futures siphoned to Swiss bank accounts or expensive cars 鈥撀燼re pressuring governments from the street. April鈥檚 anticorruption protests in Romania were organized by high school students. On聽March 26, anticorruption protests broke out in more than 90 Russian cities, with heavy representation among youth.聽A grade-schooler addressed protesters in the Siberian city of Tomsk.
鈥淭hese protests on the street are very helpful, but what is more important is that civil societies develop the technical skills to understand what corruption is 鈥� and convince partners in the private sector that a corruption-free international market is much better for them,鈥� says Peter Eigen, the founder of Transparency International, a leading anticorruption nongovernmental organization.聽
Mr. Eigen, who worked with聽President Ghani on corruption issues at the World Bank in the 1990s, says that Ghani has the background to develop credible institutions and resources to deal with corruption. 聽
鈥淭here is a possibility to change things,鈥� he adds. 鈥淏ut it will take a very strong coalition between a locally based civil society 鈥� not just do-gooders from Germany and the US 鈥� to deal with corruption and lift the standard of integrity. The national government cannot be the leader. It has to be in cooperation with an organized civil society that is becoming stronger and stronger, with more wisdom and more courage.鈥�
