Panel discusses Afghan war

The destruction of war is sometimes justified by the reconstruction that comes afterward. The war on terror ran the Taliban out of Afghanistan; it also killed innocent civilians. A panel discussion held Tuesday discussed the impact of the war on terrorism against Afghanistan and the current political scenario. The panelists, which included a number of representatives from Afghanistan, also discussed ways to rebuild the Afghan education system.\nThere was a consensus among the panelists that the most positive consequence of the war against Afghanistan was the uprooting of the "cancer" or "menace" of the Taliban regime that could not have been removed without outside intervention. But there was a debate on whether it was necessary for the United States to conduct the war in the manner it did; the cost of which was the lives of 4,000 to 8,000 innocent Afghans.\nThe Minister of Higher Education Dr. Fayez called upon the United States to help the Afghan government in liberalizing education and purging out the "Taliban styled mentality" that has permeated educational institutions. He lamented the brain drain, the acute shortage of trained teachers and the paucity of resources. \nShamly drew the attention of the audience to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. She emphasized that Afghanistan is ill equipped to deal with the sudden influx of refugees as well as the issue of scarcity of food and clothing as winter arrives. She called upon the U.S. to embark on a program of reconstruction and not to abandon the Afghans at the moment of crisis.\nPresident Bush's plans of war against Iraq came under heavy criticism.\n"The President is convinced that the war in Afghanistan was so successful that he is planning another war," Shahrani said. "In fact, a war against Iraq would lead to the mobilization of a large number of people who share an anti-U.S. sentiment, by the al Qaeda, in which case the war will not help in making the U.S. safer or more secure. The problem of terrorism and security is a political issue and efforts need to be directed towards fostering an environment that do not allow the breeding of terrorists.'' \nShamly said the United States will lose credibility if it wages war on Iraq and will break another regime without providing for an alternate structure. \n"The bin Ladens and Mullah Omars will use these opportunities to foment dissent," she said. "And then the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia will be on fire.''\nThe panel discussion was followed by questions from the audience. A large number of questions dealt with higher education, women's rights, government and politicians in Afghanistan. Some members of the audience expressed reservations about the United States' intentions when it came to providing foreign aid and investment. There were also concerns about Afghanistan's ability to engage in nation building without being influenced by donors.\nThe audience was small and enthusiastic. Most of the Afghan-Americans remained after the question session to personally talk to the panelists. They held lively discussions in Persian speckled with English. Palwasha Rahmany, an Afghan-American majoring in business, said the forum was informative. \n"The media in the U.S. do not give a complete picture of the news," she said. " After listening to these experts I realized that everything is not going as smoothly as projected and the basic necessities of people are still not being met." \nMaryam Roohani, a cytotechnology and Arabic major said, "The media always portray a picture of ethnic conflict in Afghanistan, but I got a completely different picture after attending the forum. So, I am really glad that I attended the discussion.''\nPanelists included Dr. Sharif Fayez, Minister of Higher Education of Afghanistan; Dr. Abdul Wahed Sarabi, a distinguished academician and former Minister in Afghanistan; Dr. Zieba Shorish-Shamly, President of Women's Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan; Dr. Alam Payind, Director of Middle Eastern Studies Center, Ohio State University; and Dr. Nazif Shahrani, IU Professor of Anthropology.