American aid workers needed in Afghanistan

It’s not enough for President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to tell Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, how sorry they are for a U.S. bombing strike that killed dozens of innocent Afghan civilians. The administration should immediately send aid, including workers, money, food, medicine, clothing and anything else that demonstrates the extent of America’s regret.

Words alone won’t appease a population that is becoming increasingly disillusioned with the military involvement of the U.S. and other NATO members in their country.

The goal of the military operation is to rid Afghanistan of Taliban militants who are destabilizing the democratically elected Karzai government. Afghanistan is also being used by coalition forces as a launching pad for the search for Osama bin Laden, the world’s leading terrorist, and members of his al-Qaida terrorist organization.

Bin Laden and his group are said to be holed up in the mountain region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are being protected by tribal chieftains in the remote provinces in Pakistan that are not easily accessible.

The fact that President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton met with Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Washington illustrates just how important the two leaders are to America’s war on global terrorism.

The meetings also were designed to show al-Qaida and the Taliban that the U.S. will do whatever is necessary to ensure that Afghanistan and Pakistan remain in the hands of the democratically elected governments and that the countries will continue to receive significant financial and other support to assist in their own wars against Islamic extremists.

Nuclear weapons

Finally, America’s interest in Pakistan’s political stability stems from its possessing nuclear weapons and the ability to deliver them. The danger of these weapons of mass destruction falling into the wrong hands is increased by the fact that extremists are already making inroads in many parts of the country.

A major rallying cry of the militant leaders is that the presence of American military forces in the country is a clear indication of the West’s expansionist aims.

The same cry can be heard in Afghanistan, where the government is under intense pressure from the Taliban.

In light of all this, the U.S. bombing Monday that claimed so many civilian lives gives the militants fresh ammunition to use against Karzai and the Americans.

The way to neutralize the Islamists is for the U.S. to win the hearts and minds of the populace. That can be done by sending in teams of workers to held rebuild homes and other structures destroyed by the bombs and to help ease the suffering of those who lost loved ones by offering financial and other assistance.

In poor countries, the offer of reparations is seen as a demonstration of heartfelt regret.

The Obama administration must not miss this opportunity to show that America’s might isn’t just bombs and heavily armed soldiers. The kinder, gentler side of the most powerful nation on earth is just as important in achieving the spread of democracy.

Having Americans working alongside Afghans in rebuilding the nation would send a much more powerful message to the Islamic world than any military campaign.

Indeed, when U.S.-led coalition forces ousted the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan in late 2001 in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack on America’s homeland, the people were promised a future of social and economic freedom. The ultra-Islamic leaders had governed the country according Sharia or Islamic law and basically returned the country to the stone age.

Now, more than seven years later, the promise of a bright tomorrow remains unfulfilled. That’s why the non-military aspects of the United States’ involvement must be emphasized.