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Listen more, shoot less, says peace adviser: Otherwise, he says, Canada will remain tied up in an unwinnable war
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Military tactics that don't differentiate between terrorists and Afghans with legitimate complaints are driving new recruits into the arms of al-Qaeda, warns a Canadian who is an adviser to a peace commission sanctioned by the Afghan government.
Dr. Seddiq Weera says Canada will be embroiled in an unwinnable war in the South Asian country if it does not push for more diplomacy and negotiations to deal with the legitimate grievances of many Afghan groups.
"You bomb them, you shoot them, you don't invite them to tell you why they are unhappy," said Dr. Weera, who is usually based in Kabul, but is on a brief visit back to Canada.
"You have no mechanism for consultation or negotiations. The only thing you have is either 'be a peaceful citizen and follow the government or we will kill you.'
"Aren't we creating more sympathizers?" he added. "Aren't we supplying al-Qaeda with more Afghans?"
Dr. Weera, who was imprisoned for four and a half years for taking part in the resistance against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, meets with Foreign Affairs officials in Ottawa today. Before coming to Canada, he was a member of the 1989-1991 Afghan interim government in exile that was based in Pakistan.
Dr. Weera is currently a board member and technical adviser to the Independent National Commission on Strengthening Peace in Afghanistan, but points out that his views are his own.
He said the Canadian military is needed in the country and has done good work. But Dr. Weera notes there has been too much emphasis on combat operations.
Western nations, he said, do not want to acknowledge that when troops went into Afghanistan in late 2001 to destroy al-Qaeda bases, they arrived in the middle of a civil war. U.S. troops joined forces with the Northern Alliance, whose members currently dominate today's Afghan government and are considered in the West as "the good guys," Dr. Weera said.
But he points out that there is no black and white situation in Afghanistan. Previously when they were in power, members of the Northern Alliance raped hundreds of women. When the Taliban came to power, their members beat hundreds of women.
Today, there are drug lords and war criminals serving in the Afghan parliament. There are also war criminals and drug lords associated with the Taliban as well as another opposition group, Hezb-e-Islami.
He said people in southern Afghanistan have concerns that those from the north control many of the police and government positions as well as receive the bulk of money to finance aid projects. Whether these complaints are legitimate is not clear, but Dr. Weera said some effort has to be made to discuss such concerns.
Dr. Weera said if that is not done, foreign soldiers will not see any victory in Afghanistan.
Open to your thoughts on the subject.
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Military tactics that don't differentiate between terrorists and Afghans with legitimate complaints are driving new recruits into the arms of al-Qaeda, warns a Canadian who is an adviser to a peace commission sanctioned by the Afghan government.
Dr. Seddiq Weera says Canada will be embroiled in an unwinnable war in the South Asian country if it does not push for more diplomacy and negotiations to deal with the legitimate grievances of many Afghan groups.
"You bomb them, you shoot them, you don't invite them to tell you why they are unhappy," said Dr. Weera, who is usually based in Kabul, but is on a brief visit back to Canada.
"You have no mechanism for consultation or negotiations. The only thing you have is either 'be a peaceful citizen and follow the government or we will kill you.'
"Aren't we creating more sympathizers?" he added. "Aren't we supplying al-Qaeda with more Afghans?"
Dr. Weera, who was imprisoned for four and a half years for taking part in the resistance against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, meets with Foreign Affairs officials in Ottawa today. Before coming to Canada, he was a member of the 1989-1991 Afghan interim government in exile that was based in Pakistan.
Dr. Weera is currently a board member and technical adviser to the Independent National Commission on Strengthening Peace in Afghanistan, but points out that his views are his own.
He said the Canadian military is needed in the country and has done good work. But Dr. Weera notes there has been too much emphasis on combat operations.
Western nations, he said, do not want to acknowledge that when troops went into Afghanistan in late 2001 to destroy al-Qaeda bases, they arrived in the middle of a civil war. U.S. troops joined forces with the Northern Alliance, whose members currently dominate today's Afghan government and are considered in the West as "the good guys," Dr. Weera said.
But he points out that there is no black and white situation in Afghanistan. Previously when they were in power, members of the Northern Alliance raped hundreds of women. When the Taliban came to power, their members beat hundreds of women.
Today, there are drug lords and war criminals serving in the Afghan parliament. There are also war criminals and drug lords associated with the Taliban as well as another opposition group, Hezb-e-Islami.
He said people in southern Afghanistan have concerns that those from the north control many of the police and government positions as well as receive the bulk of money to finance aid projects. Whether these complaints are legitimate is not clear, but Dr. Weera said some effort has to be made to discuss such concerns.
Dr. Weera said if that is not done, foreign soldiers will not see any victory in Afghanistan.
Open to your thoughts on the subject.
