Chair: Jeanne-Paloma Zelmati
Director: Veneka Chagwedera
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Committee Positions: Download [DOC]
Afghanistan is today one of the most overlooked post-conflict countries in the world. Efforts to rebuild the country are not making significant progress despite the fact that the reconstruction has been ongoing for several years now. This is partly due to the fact that international efforts have largely been diverted to other areas of the Middle East .
Violence is still ongoing in the country. There have been continued attacks against President Karzai although there are also some signs that the insurgency might be calming down and that recruiting and funding their operations is getting increasingly difficult. However insurgencies often last decades - sometimes even quarter centuries - therefore a lull of a few weeks should not be indicative of a major downwards trend in the insurgency's capabilities. Furthermore, the Taliban has recently returned to the airwaves which should be of concern to the international community because it could be a sign that it is trying to reestablish its stronghold in the country. Pakistan has sent troops into remote areas of the country and made efforts to reinforce their joint border in order to curb the growth of terrorist networks and the flow of these foreign elements into country.
Furthermore, the problems of drug trafficking and money laundering are still very real ones. Afghanistan remains the world's largest exporter of opium and a large source of hashish. It could produce up to 582 metric tons of heroin if all this opium was processed. The number of Afghan farmers growing poppy-seeds in their fields is on the rise. 80-90% of heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghan opium!
Despite largely successful efforts mostly by the UN to repatriate Afghan refugees, 2 to 3 million refugees still remain in Iran and Pakistan , most at their own choosing.
It is of course an Islamic country. The majority of its Muslims are Shiias, with possibly strong ties to Iran and the now "dominant" party in Iraq . The country also has strong links to Central Asia, and is often called "the heart of Asia ." The leadership has always had better relations with India than Pakistan . Before it became a Muslim country it was a Buddhist one.
Afghanistan has the potential to be a rich country. Its people are hard-working and there the country harbors large proven reserves of petroleum. However it is still waiting for a time when those resources can be more fully and efficiently exploited.
In the last two years, Afghanistan has largely fallen off the radar screens of American politics. Very recently though it has been brought back to the discussion table, with President Bush asking Congress for increased funding for the reconstruction of Afghanistan and Iraq .