By Daud Khattak
The failure of al Qaeda to stage more attacks on the U.S. in the same
style as September 11, 2001 over the past eight years indicates its weakness.
The flushing out of its leadership from Afghanistan
and the arrest of its several mid-ranking leaders, mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has bitterly disturbed
its organizational structure.
However, we must also recognize that many al Qaeda
supporters, if not active members, have been created by some of the coalition's
misguided policies in the past eight years.
One such example is the use of airpower in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Pakistan,
U.S.-operated drone strikes have taken out several al Qaeda leaders, but often
go astray and kill civilians. Similarly in Afghanistan, airstrikes like the
one in Kunduz
last week that killed up to 125 create and enlarge the support base for al
Qaeda in the countries, which were once already mostly purged of those
elements. These airstrikes, under the new leadership of top NATO commander in Afghanistan
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, have dropped
by almost half -- a trend that should be continued.
By the same token, dealing with the extremist problem by
using only military might is not going to eliminate the scourge of militant
violence. To root it out, the international community should focus on areas
like Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan and the border regions of Afghanistan, to
root out poverty, promote education, ensure health and civic facilities.
Educating one tribesman is worth spending $100,000 on pity projects which often
end soon after inauguration (see the large number of such projects in Helmand,
Zabul, Uruzgan and southeastern Afghanistan).
Hence, alongside the military action, the human side of the issue should also
be addressed to ensure success against not only al Qaeda, but all sorts of militancies
and insurgencies.
Daud Khattak is a
correspondent for the Pakistani newspaper The News International.
FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images
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