Main focus of Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Afghanistan wants to protect itself

The international conference on the future of Afghanistan has begun in Kabul. The country wants to control its own security within three years and cooperate if need be with Taliban fighters. The European press calls the plans ambitious and foresees many obstacles on the way.

The Irish Times - Ireland

On the occasion of the Afghanistan conference in Kabul the daily The Irish Times examines the possibilities for a solution to the war in Afghanistan: "A more realistic perspective on the war is emerging even among those most committed to fighting it. Afghanistan's problems of rampant insecurity, endemic corruption, widespread poverty and weak government persist. Most Afghans do not want Nato there and support efforts to reach a political deal with the Taliban, based on the assumption that it is not a unified resistance run by al-Qaeda, but a coalition of regional and local opponents who could be attracted to an alternative path. Any negotiated end to the war will have to take these realities into account. It will also have to involve neighbouring states - Pakistan especially - more centrally because of the overlapping interests and loyalties between Pashtuns on both sides of that border." (20/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Afghanistan, » Pakistan

Berlingske - Denmark

Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced at the beginning of the Afghanistan conference that by 2014 local troops will have replaced the international peace-keeping forces in the country. The daily Berlingske Tidende asks whether this is feasible: "Karzai is being extremely optimistic in view of the serious situation in Afghanistan. Add to that the widespread corruption in the Afghan government and the future cooperation with moderate Taliban elements - even leaving out the hard core - and you get what could become an explosive cocktail. It is in no one's interest to resurrect the government which ruled until 2001. That is not what the Western soldiers have been fighting for. Nevertheless all possibilities must be appraised that could lead to peace, even the art of defining the term 'moderate Taliban'." (20/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Denmark, » Global, » Afghanistan

Der Standard - Austria

The international Afghanistan Conference in Kabul will produce nothing but new attacks and vague promises, the left-liberal daily Der Standard predicts: "This was what happened at the so-called Peace Jirga in Kabul in June. This meeting among Afghans representing different interest groups - not all of them were there - was a stage for President Hamid Karzai to demonstrate his good intentions but failed to produce concrete results, and some observers fear that it actually caused new rifts. Things won't be so bad today, but the Kabul Conference is primarily a show. Here the warlords and paymasters swear their commitment to what many see as a lost cause. In addition to the old promises there will be no lack of proclamations that soon the Afghans will have to assume the responsibility for their affairs. And no one knows exactly what that means or what will happen then." (20/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Afghanistan
All available articles from » Gudrun Harrer

Delo - Slovenia

The ninth International Conference on Afghanistan won't improve the situation in the country, writes the daily Delo and fears that the war may actually intensify: "The Afghan government, which effectively controls only a quarter of the country, will support the international community's decision to keep the 140,000 soldiers on Nato's Isaf mission in the country. … In this way Washington, which has already made the war in Afghanistan its own war entirely, as well as London and Brussels will legitimise their military presence and the war. This will have the effect of making the new Nato chief commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, even more aggressive and less willing to compromise in the coming months, as happened in Iraq." (20/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Afghanistan
All available articles from » Bostjan Videmsek

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