Expert: Afghanistan has a long way to go

Charles Norchi previewed the speech he will deliver Saturday.
WARREN -- The clash in Afghanistan could define the civilization we have in America, Charles Norchi, an international lawyer and professor at Yale and Sarah Lawrence College, told the members of the Warren Rotary Club.
"It can determine the type of places we can go, the technologies we have access to, whether or not we feel safe," said Norchi.
The speech Wednesday to Rotary Club members was a preview of the talk Norchi will give at 8 p.m. Saturday at John F. Kennedy High School. The talk is free and open to the public.
Norchi, a JFK graduate, has been a consultant to the U.S. State Department on India, and is adviser to the current Afghan regime. He plans to fly to Kabul next week.
In his speech to the Rotary Club, Norchi praised the United States' efforts to drive Osama bin Laden out of Afghanistan.
But, he said that bin Laden was able to get a foothold there because of the United States' failure to remain involved in the 1990s, after the Soviets pulled out.
"Afghanistan is the victim of the game superpowers once played," Norchi said.
Afghanistan's history
Afghanistan has a long history as crossroads and battlefield. During the 19th century, it was an expanding Indian/British empire and Russian empire that clashed in Afghanistan's deserts and mountains.
In the 1980s, Afghanistan was a battle ground between the United States and the Soviets. Russian invaders controlled the cities, while the United States supported tribal resistance, which groups controlled most of the country.
The heads of these groups are now the warlords and politicians in Afghan politics. One guerrilla resistance group became the Northern Alliance. Others allied with the Taliban.
After the Soviets' withdraw, the United States also ended its involvement. This vacuum of leadership allowed the Taliban to move in from Pakistan and take charge.
The situation was ripe for bin Laden to arrive by private jet and build his own army, Norchi said.
Creating a stabile Afghanistan does not entail rebuilding but building a country from scratch, Norchi said.
It will take decades and billions of dollars, he said.