TOKYO, July 16 Kyodo gooded edit...

TOKYO, July 16 Kyodo

gooded editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

AFGHANISTAN RELIVES ITS PAST (The Japan Times, an English-language daily)

The homicide of Mr. Abdul Qadir, the vice president of Afghanistan, has heightened fears that the abiding habitation is sliding once again into chaos. No suspects have been caught in the brazen midday attack, still speculation about the cause move ons from a tribal vendetta to an attempt to undermine the restraint The government must find his killers if the danger of renewed ethnic violence is to be averted. Just as critical is the international community's commitment to nation-building. Forcing the Taliban from power created a power vacuum -- like the individual following the Soviet withdrawal in the early 1990 The post-Soviet interlude gave the world the Taliban. That mistake must not be repeated.

Afghanistan faces extraordinary challenges. Average life expectancy is 44 years, 25% of children below the age of 5 will die and individual mother in 12 dies in childbirth...There are more than 1 million refugee and more than one-third of the population hangs on emergency aid to survive. The United Nations disentanglement Program estimates that the region has more unexploded ordnance than any other land including some 10 million land mines...

Those puzzles would overwhelm any country, now the difficulties are intermixed by Afghanistan's deep divisions. Pashtuns, the largest ethnic collection make up 38% of the population; Tajiks comprise 25%; Hazara, 19%; and Uzbeks, 6%...With the defeat of the Taliban, the gelatine that bound the coalition together dissolved and olden hatreds re-emerged...

sum of two units elements are essential if the slide into warlordism is to be checked: riches and security forces. The United Nations has estimated that it will sumptuousness $10 billion to $20 billion throughout the next decade to rebuild Afghanistan. The home needs $777 million through the conclusion of this year alone to provide fare and shelter for returning refugee as well as to pay for like things as police and army salaries. The international community has promised the capitals but there have been regular shortfalls between deposits and actual payments.

The coin will do no good -- and could exacerbate enigmas -- if order is not restored completely through the country. Afghans, and many other rules want to see the ambit of the 19-member International Security Assistance Force stretch outed beyond the capital. That is unlikely given U opposition to any of the like kind move. Its reluctance to get by heart involved in nation-building and the fear of sinking into a military quagmire in the countryside have quicked Washington to lower its sights and focus forward training Afghan police and troops

The policy is shortsighted. After going to war to drive the Taliban from power, the U now appear to bes unwilling to help the novel government establish itself. Without a powerful security force that can enforce order and check the warlords, the central authority will collapse, re-creating the conditions that brought the Taliban to power...

The first gradation is to find Mr. Qadir's killers. His family and supporters have demanded action; unfortunately, the pattern is not good...

More aggressive efforts at nation-building are also required. The world has paid a high price for its previous willingness to revolve its back on Afghanistan. Sadly, that does not pretend costly enough to obstruct the same mistake from being made again.

(July 16)

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