Stable Afghanistan Vital to Central Asia, Europe, United States
27 September 2007
Long-term, comprehensive approach needed
Washington -- The security and well-being of the trans-Atlantic community depend on successfully stabilizing Afghanistan so that it will not be a source of narcotics or a haven for terrorists, U.S. and European officials say.
The United States and its European allies have contributed $26.8 billion to Afghanistan since 2001, enabling the country to make large strides in providing better lives for its people.
In health care, more than 80 percent of the population now has access to medical facilities, compared with 9 percent in 2004. More than 4,000 medical facilities have opened during the past three years and more than 600 midwives have been trained and sent to every province.
In terms of infrastructure, more than 4,000 kilometers of roads have been completed and construction has started for 20,000 new homes for Afghans returning to Kabul.
The private sector has begun to flourish, as indicated by the 10 percent of Afghans who now own cell phones. Multinational companies such as Coca-Cola, Siemens, Nestlé and Etisalat have invested. Strong consumer demand is boosting Kabul’s economy, leading to heavy road traffic, new shopping malls and new hotels.
"We are making real progress in Afghanistan and, together, we and the Afghan people will succeed," Kurt Volker, principal deputy secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said September 14 in Helsinki, Finland.
Yet Afghanistan remains the leading supplier of opium and heroin in Europe, where drug overdoses are one of the leading causes of death among young people and the cost of treating addiction exceeds $750 million a year.
"This is a modern plague among the young people of Europe, and it illustrates how tackling the narcotics problem in Afghanistan can directly impact the health and well-being of Europeans," Volker said.
Britain's minister of state for the foreign and commonwealth office, Kim Howells, said defeating the drug trade in Afghanistan, which supplies 90-95 percent of the world's opium, will take at least a generation.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer underscored the importance of the international community's commitment to Afghanistan at a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting on Afghanistan in January.
"The international community intends to keep the initiative in Afghanistan," he said. "That means more reconstruction. ... Clear commitments with more support for the government, for the Afghan national army, the security forces and the Afghan national police."
De Hoop Scheffer said the international community must maintain a long-term commitment with a comprehensive approach in dealing with Afghanistan to prevent the country from again becoming a haven for terrorists who have staged attacks in both the United States and Europe.
Volker said al-Qaida is looking increasingly to Europe for opportunities to attack. "The Madrid train bombings of March 2004, which killed 119 and wounded more than 600, were undertaken by the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigade, better known as the Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe. The London bombings of July 2005, which left 52 dead and more than 770 injured, also could be traced to this group," he said.
The NATO civilian spokesman in Afghanistan, Nicolas Lunt, said that although NATO is involved in military activities in Afghanistan, "its defining contribution will be roads, hospitals, schools, thriving markets, healthy children, wheat-filled fields, decent policemen and competent administrators."
Indeed, with the help of the international community, Afghanistan has made remarkable progress since the Taliban regime was toppled six years ago. The Afghan economy grows 12-14 percent a year, making it the fastest-growing economy in the region.
The latest success story in the development of Afghanistan is the completion of a new bridge connecting Afghanistan to Tajikistan and giving it access to Central Asian trade. (See related article.)
The 672-meter-long bridge, costing $37 million, with customs buildings, inspection bays, and check points at both ends, spans the Oxus River. The United States provided the bulk of the funding, but Norway, Japan and the European Union also joined the effort. Before the bridge was built, the only way across this part of the river was by a limited-capacity ferry that did not operate throughout the year.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez attended the opening ceremony of the bridge and commented, "Much as the Silk Road was integral to the great civilizations in the past, the byways of the region are again proving to be the crossroads of commerce, of peace and of stability."
The U.S. Agency for International Development also plays a vigorous role in Afghanistan's development, overseeing a multifaceted program that supports agriculture, alternative livelihoods to opium poppy cultivation, democracy and governance, economic growth, education, health and infrastructure.
The full text of Volker’s remarks in Helsinki is available on the Web site of the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki.
For more stories on Afghanistan, see Rebuilding Afghanistan.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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