Should we rebuild Afghanistan? Afghanistan has suffered through decades of war. Should the U.S. military now lead the way in its reconstruction? (Opinion).

YES

With Al Qaeda and the Taliban largely defeated, the U.S. and its military must lead the rebuilding of Afghanistan in a way that convinces open-minded Muslims throughout the world that America is a force for good.

In 23 years of war, some 9 million Afghans have been killed, wounded, or driven from their homes. Cities and roads have been reduced to rubble, while villages, fields, and irrigation systems have been systematically destroyed. The education and health-care systems, which were making strides toward modernization in the early 1970s, have been completely disrupted.

State failure is the cause of Afghanistan's current woes. When the Soviet Union invaded in 1979, the U.S. supported the Afghan freedom fighters with billions of dollars of weapons. But when the Russians withdrew in 1989, the U.S. lost interest and did nothing to rebuild the ravaged country. The result was civil war and lawlessness that enabled the Taliban to rise and permitted Osama bin Laden to find refuge.

This time, the U.S. must be active in Afghanistan until it is once again a functional state--one where people have jobs and security, and where power is shared between ethnic groups. This investment in Afghanistan, even if the cost runs into billions of dollars, will be cheaper in the long run than having to wage another military campaign in the future.

The goal must be to destroy the conditions that allowed Afghanistan to play host to terrorism. The U.S. military campaign will have been futile if abusive warlords take control and lawlessness becomes the norm. The American military must play an active role in disarming ethnic militias and establishing security before it's possible to rebuild roads or schools. That may require the use of force.

The United Nations can help, but only the United Stales and the power of its military can keep Afghanistan stable as it recovers from Taliban rule, and then through a long reconstruction phase. That would send a signal to the Islamic world that the U.S. is engaged in a war on terrorism, not on Islam, and that the U.S. can build as well as bomb.

--LARRY P. GOODSON
Author
Afghanistan's Endless War

NO

While the U.S. should support the Afghan people in their own rebuilding effort, we should not take on that reconstruction ourselves. Ultimately, the responsibility for guaranteeing a peaceful future belongs to them.

It is Afghans who must want peace, and work to achieve it. Peace cannot be imposed from outside. The U.S. could impose martial law in Afghanistan, acting as the nation's police and security force, but this would only breed resentment among the Afghan people.

It would be a grave mistake to use U.S. military resources to reconstruct Afghanistan. Our military is neither trained nor equipped for this purpose, and the Afghan people would not support such a policy. As history shows, Afghans have no interest in being occupied by foreign armies. They drove out the Soviet Union in the 1980s and other invaders before that. They support the current U.S. military mission because they see Al Qaeda as unwelcome troublemakers. But that support could easily erode if the Afghan people believe the U.S. operation is evolving into a military occupation.

Instead, we must use political, economic, and diplomatic tools in the rebuilding effort. Free trade, investment, and political support for Afghanistan's new government should underpin America's contribution. If there is a need for a military presence beyond the current campaign, the Afghan government must seek and define that presence.

Ultimately, the U.S. must pursue its own interests. That means, above all, ensuring that Afghanistan will no longer be a safe haven for terrorists. And it means pursuing the war on terrorism in other regions of the world. Our military and other resources must be harnessed to fight that war.

President Bush has warned us that the war on terrorism will be a long-term one that may take American troops to many countries. To prevail in this struggle for freedom and security, the United States must concentrate its resources on this highest priority. America shouldn't turn its back on Afghanistan, but the best way to lend support is to limit military action while developing long-term diplomatic, political, and economic ties.

--JACK SPENCER
Policy Analyst
The Heritage Foundation