A Realistic Approach To Afghan Stability

Ted Mataxis says nation building in Afghanistan — regardless of who does the building — will require a long-term, multidimensional approach by the United States. This country and others, he says, must be willing to extend their political, military, diplomatic, educational and humanitarian resources if Afghanistan is to exist for the long term under a stable and moderate government.

A longtime Southern Pines resident who now lives in Denver, Colo., Mataxis knows whereof he speaks. The retired U.S. Army brigadier general has been to Afghanistan nine times and served as an adviser, observer and negotiator during and after the war between Afghanistan and the former Soviet Union and during the Afghan civil war.

In an interview with The Pilot during a recent visit to Southern Pines, where he was visiting his son, Mataxis spoke about the current conflict in Afghanistan, the outlook for the country’s future and the international war on terrorism. “What I hope happens is that the United States can help to build the Northern Alliance into a viable force to work for a new government in Afghanistan,” he told The Pilot’s Clark Cox. “This will be more difficult than many people think because of the ethnic diversity in Afghanistan.”

The country, while all Muslim, is populated by nine ethnic groups. Once the repressive ruling Taliban regime is thoroughly deposed, the various tribes must be brought to the table in the formation of a new government. That will require a delicate diplomatic balancing act. Fortunately, most of the ethnic groups are moderate and not allied with the fascist, fundamentalist Taliban.

If Afghanistan is to be enduringly stabilized and if terrorists are to be put to rout, Mataxis says, the United States must undertake multiple initiatives. These include a change in our policy toward assassination to allow our military and intelligence agencies to take out terrorists and those who support them. Many would find that distasteful, but Osama bin Laden and his loathsome ilk need to be put on notice that their crimes against humanity could cost them their lives.

Mataxis also recommends humanitarian efforts to feed Afghanistan's poverty-stricken people and rebuild the country’s infrastructure, the teaching of university-level courses on Central Asia, and a liberalized immigration policy toward people in Central Asia and the Middle East as a means of promoting understanding between our culture and theirs.

As a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, Mataxis is a hard-nose realist when it comes to the war in which the United States is now engaged. But he is a visionary in his outlook for the building of a peaceful world free of terrorism. The Bush administration, Congress and the American people should heed Mataxis’ knowledgeable advice as we strive to forge a more secure nation, a more stable world and improved international and cultural understanding.

As the general says, that won’t be easy, but our security depends on a worldwide effort to win the war and win the peace.

Shop Here at Home

The Christmas shopping season is in full swing. It’s time to throw out those catalogs and cancel those plans to drive to Crabtree Valley and Four Seasons. Moore County shoppers should shop till they drop — in Moore County.

That would be the best stimulus package for a county that is feeling the after-effects of Sept. 11 and the national economic weakness that predated it. Every gift you’ll want to buy is available at local retail outlets, and patronizing them can strengthen those businesses’ chances of survival and provide at least temporary jobs in a county where the unemployment rate has reached a disturbing 5.3 percent.

And heck, you can even find a place to park in Southern Pines, Aberdeen, Pinehurst and Carthage. Try parking your car at one of those mega-malls.