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opinion
Kabul should not
be target of Northern Alliance
The United States
has begun to pave the way for the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan
to take over many cities from Taliban forces.
I just do not want them to enter the city of Kabul.
If Northern Alliance troops entered the capital city of Kabul,
a second civil war mirroring the battle that started in 1990
would once again take place.
The Alliance consists of Tajik and Uzbek minorities who do not
represent the majority of the Pashtu population.
The Northern Alliance had fought with the Taliban more than
five years before recent American bombing disabled Taliban front
lines.
Alliance forces are much too weak to have pushed back the Taliban
on their own. The Alliance was relegated to merely 10 to 15
percent of the country prior to United States involvement.
We have now bombed enough to allow Northern Alliance troops
to march into Kabul.
But the United States government and more specifically President
Bush has asked the Northern Alliance not to storm Kabul.
We know from history and a bloody civil war that the Northern
Alliance are not welcome as sole leaders in Afghanistan.
Is the Northern Alliance leadership smart enough to heed the
advice given by the United States?
Do they understand that without help from America they would
still be stuck in the North without any advancement?
If the Taliban were given a few more years, they may have totally
obliterated the Northern Alliance and all of its forces.
Our government must remind Alliance leaders of their position
in this war, and we must hold Alliance leaders accountable for
any actions taken by their troops.
The Alliance needs to know America will put them down if they
enter into the capital's city limits.
We must not allow any troops to claim victory by entering Kabul.
It would be a huge mistake to let any Afghan troops, no matter
what tribe, to take place as an acting government.
The government must be broad based. This is known. Until this
new government exists no group should claim dominance in the
country.
We constantly hear Abdullah Abdullah and other opposition leaders
admit to the need of a government that represents all Afghans.
We are running out of time and the new government needs to be
in place as soon as possible.
The Northern Alliance must follow the United States' direction.
Any misstep by these opposition forces will cause a greater
conflict than the one that we are currently facing.
We need to end terrorist's capacity to work in Afghanistan.
If a civil war breaks out for the second time, Afghanistan will
once again be the choice country for aspiring terrorist.
Dwight Flenniken III is a print journalism major at Cal State
Long Beach.
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