Afghanistan: Minorities and Models of Governance

Last month, in a delegation organized by Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), four members of the House of Representatives met in Europe with ethnic minority leaders from Afghanistan who oppose “President Hamid Karzai and his U.S.-backed initiative to open political negotiations with the Taliban.” Rohrabacher recently stated that no one in Afghanistan wants a central government, adding that “That’s the model that we have been trying to force with our military . . . on the people of Afghanistan.” Representative C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (D-MD) argued that the Afghan people “don’t feel the United States is listening to them because of our relationship with Karzai.” The Northern Alliance, consisting of Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras– minority groups who helped the U.S. military to oust the Taliban government in 2001 –have systematically been “purged” from official positions by the Karzai government and replaced with the country’s largest ethnic groups, Pashtuns. In fear of being increasingly marginalized, minority groups are opposing a deal between the government and the Taliban. Rohrabacher advocated a U.S. withdrawal of 100,000 troops, along with efforts to “back the minorities’ demand for more autonomy and help them rebuild their own militias and take over the fight against the Taliban.” Rohrabacher also said, “We can beat the radicals in Afghanistan. We can’t do it by trying to force people to accept a centralized government that is totally contrary to their culture.” In last month’s meeting, Ruppersberger told the Afghan leaders to work with Afghanistan’s “democratic culture” rather than try to overthrow Karzai.