Complexity

“Sir,” he said over the rotor blast of the Huey helicopter, “Is this bird going to Ghazni?”  He looked dejected when I said the helicopter was headed back to Kabul.  I had just landed at FOB Shank in Logar Province.  As I waited for my contact to come get me, I asked the soldier what brought him to Shank if he was from Ghazni.  He walked toward me with a slight limp: “I had to come to the medical center here,” he said.  Then without provocation he said, “I really need to get out of this country.  I don’t want to be a part of any place where a ten year old child tries to kill you with a grenade.” 

FOB Shank at dusk

The rule of law advisor in Logar serves that province as well as the provinces of Bamiyan and Wardak.  Together, the three provinces provide a diverse tribal population that illustrates progress in the rule of law effort in Afghanistan.  Interestingly, Bamiyan is scheduled to be one of the first provinces turned over to Afghan control sometime this summer.  I made inquiries as to whether it was ready for transition and received an unhesitant affirmation of its readiness.  However, this may owe mainly to the tribal composition of the province.

Bamiyan, as some may recall, is where the Bamiyan Buddhist statues were prior to the Taliban blowing them up to the protest of most of the world.  It is home to a mostly Hazara population, with some Tajik, Tatar, and Pushtun tribal representation as well.  The Hazara are Shi’a and thus were viewed as kafir (infidels) by the Sunni Taliban.  As a result, they were persecuted and subjected to something akin to genocidal killing.  Since the Taliban are Pashtun, there is no love lost between the two.  Lest you think the Hazara are completely innocent, they’ve also engaged in the killing of Kuchi (nomads) over grazing territory in Bamiyan.

In any event, recent Hazara past and the conflict over grazing territory have led the Hazara to embrace modern notions of rule of law to a great extent.  Therefore, while they may or may not support foreign presence (Bamiyan is relatively safe for foreigners), they most certainly buy into a functioning justice system.  The Pashtuns, however, see it quite differently.

Although spread throughout Bamiyan, Wardak and Logar, Pashtuns are concentrated in south Logar and southeastern Wardak.  In fact, the most volatile sections of these provinces contain the highest percentage of Pashtuns.  Two particularly “hot” areas are Baraki Barak district and a valley area that separates Logar and Wardak provinces.  For a while, the valley area, known as Tangi to Americans, was a no-go area.  Attempting to remedy the problem, US forces set up COP Tangi (COP is a Combat Outpost) along with some Afghan forces.  Things got so bad that US forces couldn’t get more than a hundred yards or so outside the COP before hitting an IED. 

This difficulty ultimately led US forces to turn the COP over to the Afghan forces.  The last report was that these Afghan forces were flying the Taliban flag at the COP.  This gives you an idea of the fight here.  The Pashtuns simply have not bought in to what we’re selling.  They want no part of an Afghan government or any inkling of a western-style legal system.  This is unfortunate for them because economic success cannot be had without foreign investment and foreign investment is contingent upon the establishment of rule of law (e.g. contract enforcement, enforceable land titles, etc.).  Thus, in opposing rule of law, the Pashtuns harm themselves in the long run.  But, apparently, they do not care. 

The driving factor behind this rejection of western concepts is Pashtunwali.  Although composed of diverse practices and beliefs, the concept of Pashtunwali is a code of extreme honor to the extent that entering a Pushtun home without invitation, warrant or not, is seen as a grave offense which must be avenged with blood.  I was told of one story where an 8 year-old boy was compelled to seek vengeance under Pashtunwali despite the fact that he could barely hold a weapon.  This code permeates everything and results in an almost complete rejection of any form of central government.  In fact, there is a district in Logar that has no government whatsoever.  Indeed, a senior embassy official described local-level government as “shallow” in the Logar area.  Logar is within commuting distance of the Afghan capitol of Kabul.

This is what we are up against.  Most of the fighting and difficulties in establishing the rule of law (or at least some measure, even if imperfect) takes place in the south and east.  These are the areas predominantly occupied by Pashtuns.  It makes you wonder whether division of the country or some form of independently administrated Pashtunistan is necessary.  Of course, that brings it’s own set of problems.  The rule of complexity is the only constant here.