A groundwork for peace.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Leaders of the diverse factions of Afghanistan meeting in Bonn have made surprising progress toward establishing a post-Taliban government, but the potential for chaos remains.

With the Taliban's last stronghold in Kandahar about to fall, the Afghans must make critical decisions quickly on security and on an interim government capable of keeping the country intact until a national council can be convened next year.

The stakes could hardly be higher. For the United States and its allies in the war against terrorism, the success of the talks is necessary to ensure that Afghanistan won't plunge once again into the abyss. For Afghans, the talks offer an extraordinary opportunity to build a new nation with international funding. But that won't happen unless the Afghan factions reach agreement on how to begin building a genuinely broad-based government that can keep the peace, foster democracy, respect human rights and gain international acceptance.

The obstacles are daunting. Afghanistan is a cauldron of distinct ethnic minorities with historic grievances and unforgiving memories. It's also a nation surrounded by powerful neighbors - Pakistan, Iran, Russia - that stand ready to support different factions competing for control.

The most immediate challenge is the current military dominance of the Northern Alliance, a hodgepodge of anti-Taliban warlords with a fondness for feuding, drug dealing and refusing to yield authority.

While the alliance has become the media darling of the current war, its record during the last decade of Afghan civil war should not be forgotten. By 1995, its rapaciousness and corruption had become so extensive that the U.S. State Department greeted the Taliban's 1996 takeover with relief. This is why the U.S. officials have pushed hard for a multinational peacekeeping force, preferably from Muslim nations.

Under intense U.S. pressure, the alliance has dropped its rejection of international security forces and also moved closer to participating in an interim power-sharing government. With the presence of a security force, an interim government has a decent chance of lasting until next March when a loya jirga, a traditional assembly of tribal leaders, would be convened by the 87-year-old exiled king, Mohammad Zaher Shah.

Many important questions remain. One involves the role of the former king, who has lived in Rome since being ousted in a 1973 coup. Then there's the matter of how many seats each faction would get in an provisional national council or who might fill the most visible posts as leaders.

The role of the United States in ensuring an viable government will be essential. The United States abandoned the country in 1989 after the Soviet Union's troops left Afghanistan, and years of violence and despair followed. This time the United States and its allies must help ensure the country's future so it will never again become a haven for terrorists.