UUSC Calls for Humanitarian, Not Military, Surge in Afghanistan

UUSC believes the Obama administration's decision to send additional troops to Afghanistan and continue incursions into Pakistan is creating a perilous regional conflict. This is an unwinnable war that threatens innocent lives and undermines respect for human rights and civil liberties. The dramatic gains made by the Taliban in Pakistan, and Pakistan's intensified, U.S.-supported efforts to eliminate them, have resulted in a new humanitarian emergency in the North West Frontier Province, which has displaced an estimated 1.5 million people.

While UUSC recognizes that the Taliban is responsible for egregious human-rights abuses, the current U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan, which employs night-time raids and air strikes in civilian-populated areas, increases anti-American sentiment at a time when local community support is crucial. Recently, in Afghanistan's Farah Province, U.S. air strikes reportedly killed 147 people, many of them civilians, causing widespread public outrage among Afghans. Similarly, U.S. drone missile strikes in Pakistan, which have killed and injured hundreds of civilians, cause significant backlash against the United States and the Pakistani government. Young Afghans and Pakistanis living in Taliban-controlled areas, like Pakistan's Swat Valley, have already suffered decades of neglect by their central governments, conditions that make up fertile ground for Taliban recruitment.

This escalating conflict makes the work of international relief aid, development, and civil society groups all the more challenging, including for UUSC's Afghan program partners. Increasing restrictions on women, limited movement in rural areas, threats and intimidation from the Taliban, and military operations impede the groups' efforts to strengthen rights. Educational opportunity is particularly affected, with families afraid to send their children to school, due to fears of Taliban attacks or concerns about military operations.

The work of UUSC partner Humanitarian Assistance for Women and Children of Afghanistan (HAWCA), which encourages the active participation of Afghan women and youth in development efforts in marginalized provinces, is under threat. An HAWCA staff member reports, "The security is getting worse day by day, as all anti-government bodies, especially Taliban, who rule some parts of the country, are strongly against the presence of the military forces. As a result, all people suffer, but women and children are the first victims." Additionally, in December 2008, Afghan Women Judges Association, a UUSC partner that was instrumental in bringing women into the male-dominated Afghan judicial system, suspended its activities.

UUSC is concerned that a continuing conflict has serious civil liberties implications for people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United States. While the Obama administration reversed some Bush administration "security policies," by pledging to close Guantanamo Bay Detention Center and banning U.S. torture, the escalation of military action in Afghanistan and Pakistan provides a convenient basis for continuing many Bush-era affronts to civil liberties. Due process rights, such as habeas corpus, are still denied to detainees at the U.S. military base in Bagram, Afghanistan. Obama's decision not to release additional torture photos was, in part, explained as a measure to protect U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Additionally, Arab and Muslim Americans continue to be the primary targets of invasive U.S. laws, such as the USA Patriot Act, as well as racial and religious profiling.

After more than seven years of U.S. and international military engagement, Afghanistan still has one of the lowest national per capita incomes in the world and, serious human-rights violations persist, particularly against women and ethnic and religious minorities. As young Afghans asked in a recent Our Journey to Smile video, "Where is compassion, kindness, peace in this $83+ billion American war?"

UUSC believes there is no military solution to the political and humanitarian crisis in the region. The supplemental appropriations recently passed by Congress contained few, if any, restrictions on the billions of dollars allocated to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. UUSC supports Rep. Jim McGovern's (D-MA) bill, H.R. 2404, which calls for the Defense Department to submit to Congress, by December 31, 2009, an exit strategy for U.S. military forces. In addition, UUSC urges Congress to delink humanitarian aid and military spending — and direct more funding toward Afghan-led reconstruction and development.