EUROPEAN CONTRIBUTING nations in Afghanistan should better explain their reasons for being there to counter what has become an increasingly sceptical public debate in several EU member states, the Irish former deputy head of the EU mission in Kabul said yesterday.
Speaking at Dublin’s Institute for International and European Affairs, Michael Semple discussed how such “deep public scepticism” was at odds with official support for the mission: “The governments believe that Afghanistan and Pakistan are significant for any idea of global security, and they have concluded so far that giving up now and pulling out abruptly would call into question everything that has been done in the past eight years.
“The reopening of public discourse at a time when there is so much scepticism would actually be a very positive move . . . Look at what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and take it back to the public . . . and see if people appreciate there is a reason why we are there.”
Mr Semple, currently a research fellow at the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy at Harvard, spoke of the need for a “credible peace process” in Afghanistan. “Publics will be more willing to extend the mandate for a little bit yet if they know that this is pointing towards peace rather than occupation of a land that they are not quite sure of the reasons why we are there.”
A proper political strategy would include “ways of working with stakeholders other than the government, and ways of dealing with the government when it breaks its promises”, he said.
“Even Gen McChrystal is going to tell you that the military is not going to solve the problem, that it’s just a holding operation, so a real political strategy is required.”
Mr Semple, who has long argued for engaging with more moderate elements within the Taliban, said while there was growing support for reaching out to insurgents, questions remained over the nature of such an approach and its long-term implications.
Mr Semple was expelled from Afghanistan in December 2007 after the Karzai government disapproved of his efforts at reconciliation in the restive south.