Pros and Cons of
Permanent US bases in Afghanistan
Khadija Ibrahimi
February 27, 2011
Recently, President Hamid Karzai admitted to the media that the Americans
have been asking him about setting up permanent bases in Afghanistan. To no
one's surprise, almost right away, both United States Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, and
the American Ambassador, Karl Eikenberry, denied that the United States wants to setup
permanent bases in Afghanistan. Considering Afghanistan's strategic location in Asia and the
natural resources it has underneath its ground, its very much believable that
the Americans are pushing to setup permanent bases in Afghanistan. Of course,
countries like Pakistan, Russia, as well as hardcore nationalists and religious
figures in the country are against the idea of permanent US bases. For the
Afghan people, there are benefits as well as drawbacks of having permanent bases
in Afghanistan.
One major benefit to having permanent US bases in Afghanistan is that it will
further stabilize Afghanistan and prevent the take over of Afghanistan by the
Taliban. The even sweeter aspect of this is that Pakistan will be stopped from
taking over and controlling Afghanistan. This has been an objective of Pakistan
since the 1970s, when they trained some ignorant Afghans to destabilize the
government of President Mohammad Daoud. They are currently trying to destabilize
the Afghan government using the
Taliban. Pakistan's support, militarily, logistically and financially are known
to everyone by now - despite Pakistan's ridiculous denials. The Afghan people
can breathe easier knowing that the Pakistanis have been stopped.
Another major benefit to having permanent bases in Afghanistan is that it
will bring Afghanistan even closer to the United States, not just militarily, but
economically as well. Afghan translators, as well as other type of local Afghan
workers tend to work in these bases. Also local merchants sell to these
soldiers. On a larger scale, it doesn't hurt to have the biggest super power in
the world as your ally and friend. It has done wonders for countries like
Germany, South Korea and Japan. All of these countries have thriving economies
and they all have permanent US bases. Already in Afghanistan, the economy and
people's lives have greatly improved. Of course, things are not perfect, but it is far
better than the dark days of Taliban rule. Even before the Taliban, Afghanistan
was pretty much on its own, with very little help from its neighbors or the
west.
The most obvious negative thing about permanent US bases in Afghanistan is
that Afghanistan risks losing its independence, at least to some degree. Perhaps
the US may not get involved in internal issues, but the foreign policy will
greatly be influenced, if not controlled by the Americans. We will have a
situation like during the rule of Amir Abdur Rahman or Amir Habibullah, where
the British controlled Afghanistan's foreign policy. They may dictate to us what
country we can be friends with, and what country we must be against. Having US
bases in the country will make it very difficult for Afghans to decide their own
fate.
Another reason against the bases is that Afghans can become too
dependent on them. For example, when George W. Bush invaded Iraq, he wanted
Germany to be part of the coalition. When they voiced their opinion against the
Iraqi invasion and occupation, the Americans threatened to close down their
bases in Germany. The local German economies were very much dependent on those
US bases, and they couldn't afford to have them be removed without serious
economic implications for the Germans.
Finally, many people, including Afghans enjoy it when guests visit their
home, however, people tend to look negatively towards "permanent guests",
especially ones that cannot so easily be forced out or are perceived to have
special privileges. Right now, Afghanistan and the United States of America
enjoy a pretty good relationship, and the vast majority of Afghans are
pro-American. However, will the Afghan people still feel the same way knowing
that the Americans will never leave? It's only natural to think that there is
bound to happen an incident or a series of incidents which may trigger a major
political crises. Imagine a situation where an American soldier or even a normal
American citizen breaks the law. Americans and Afghans usually have different
expectations when it comes to punishing criminals. If Afghans are not satisfied
with the punishment, they may feel that the American is getting special
treatment because their military bases are in the country, and as result, the
positive views held by Afghans towards Americans can quickly erode.
Clearly, the Americans have long term interests in Afghanistan, however, the
Afghan people need to seriously think about the pros and cons before deciding on
this important issue. The extremists and Afghanistan's neighbors should not
influence the Afghan people's decision on this matter. We need rational minds to
make rational decisions for the long term benefit of Afghanistan.
Khadija Ibrahimi is a graduate student studying political science. She
can be reached at
khadija_ibrahimi@yahoo.com
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