Published: June 16, 2009 04:28 pm      

WE THE PEOPLE: Afghanistan: Make jobs not war

As we begin the process of ending the Iraq war, we must not get bogged down in a perpetual war in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, there are those who profit from keeping America in a permanent state of war, but we the people must say no to endless war that drains the U.S. treasury and puts enormous stress on our troops who have to endure repeated deployments. History teaches us that those nations that rely solely on military force eventually fail.

Instead of spending hundreds of billions more on war, we need to support the Afghan people through the funding of a Jobs for Afghans program. These are poor people who are tired of war, and the ordinary Afghan is not our enemy. We need to bring hope to the Afghan people, not more war. As General Petraeus, General Karl Eikenberry, Vice President Joe Biden, and Time Magazine have all indicated, 70 percent of the Taliban are men who fight only because the Taliban pays and they need the money to feed their families, since there are no other jobs. Give them jobs, and they will stop fighting.

General Petraeus has said that ”those who are simply fighting to support their families should be given an economic alternative.”

General Karl Eikenberry, former Commander of US Forces in Afghanistan, has testified that: "Much of the enemy force is drawn from the ranks of unemployed men looking for wages to support their families."

We must urge Congress to work toward the creation of a Jobs for Afghans program. This program requires the passage of funding, which is the equivalent of a mere two months of military operations, for widespread cash-for-work projects which puts money directly into the hands of poor Afghans for day labor. These kinds of projects have already proved successful and just need to be expanded. USAID launched a $3 million pilot project in January that points the way. More than 10,000 cash-strapped Afghans in the northern province of Balkh are taking spades in hand instead of rifles. Three main types of projects are under way, including the clearing of springs, the dredging and removal of silt from irrigation canals, and reforestation projects. Afghans will happily work for $10 a day at the hardest labor, as the country has a 50 percent unemployment rate. The Taliban pays $8 per day, and is all too often the only job in town.

Cash-for-work projects in Afghanistan will dramatically weaken the Taliban. The opportunities for corruption are minimized, as it is easy to count heads at a worksite to see that the money is being properly spent. These projects require little equipment besides hand-tools. Most importantly, it gives Afghans an alternative to joining the Taliban in order to feed their families.

Congress should immediately fund the Jobs for Afghans program, which would create at least 500,000, cash-for-work, day labor jobs paying $10 per day, which is a good wage in Afghanistan. We need to fund this program for at least $4 billion this year, which is a fraction of what we spend on the military there in a year. Ask Congress to move this program forward as quickly as possible. We want the war in Afghanistan to wind down soon, for our troops to come home, and for peace and friendship to exist between the Afghan and the American people.

Congressman Lincoln Davis has been to Afghanistan several times and is concerned about the situation there. Contact him and urge him to help create the Jobs for Afghans program. We need an exit strategy from Afghanistan and this jobs program is a key component of that strategy. We will achieve peace in Afghanistan, not with weapons, but with jobs that pay a living wage for an honest day’s work.