<

EVENING STANDARD EDITORIAL COMMENT: The Good News and the Bad
Tuesday, November 13, 2001
Associated Newspapers Ltd

Since the Washington-led Coalition committed itself to overthrowing the Taliban, it must be good news that the Afghan regime is on the ropes. Even if the mullahs continue to control some parts of the south of the country, they have lost Kabul. Effective authority has broken down. American bombing has broken the will of the Taliban army, although it would be rash to believe that all resistance is at an end. Guerrilla war is endemic in Afghanistan.

The immediate issue, however, is how to address the alarmingly complex political equation. Who is to administer Afghanistan? There is now no government. There is no international force ready to fly in and enforce some sort of UN authority. No progress has been made towards creating the broadly-based Afghan coalition which the United States and its allies have declared to be the preferred new instrument of rule.

Washington has acknowledged that to allow the tribes of the Northern Alliance to take over Kabul, with its overwhelmingly Pashtun population, would be highly perilous. The last thing the allies need is an outbreak of Alliance atrocities. Having bombed the Taliban out of Kabul, it would be recklessly irresponsible to leave a vacuum. The only credible way forward is for Washington to press the United Nations to intervene rapidly as power-brokers. This will be difficult, but vastly preferable to any direct attempt by the allies to impose a new administration on Afghanistan. It seems highly likely that some foreign troops will have to be rushed into Kabul, to maintain order. These should be Muslims, not Westerners. Action on all these matters is urgent.
(More: ThisIsLondon.com News Source)
2001 © Associated Newspapers Ltd.

Dan