Afghanistan Reflections

The situation in Afghanistan has been interupting my thoughts a lot these last several days.  When I go to bed at night I can't help thinking that when the sun rises I will be living in a place that is stable and secure.  My house will still be standing.  My family and friends will be safe.  My retirement savings will still be in place, etc.  However, that is not the case for many people in Afghanistan (especially women and girls).  Their world is being upended.  They do not have any safe place to go.  They cannot escape.  All that they have worked hard for is under threat.

I ask myself the same question millions of people are asking: after 20 years of NATO military operations, the training of a 300,000 strong Afghan army, and something like 2 trillion dollars invested, how could it all collapse so fast?

I don't pretend to be an expert in these matters.  Recent news reports have been pointing to a long standing problem.  It is one that has been largely overlooked by the American press, but it should have had more light all along.  It is the problem of corruption.  As you may know, St. John's has some connections with the Amin-Arsala family, who have held leadership roles in Afghanistan.  Hedayat Amin Arsala was a vice-president of Afghanistan from 2002-2004.  His son, Salahudein, works for the World Bank and served as head of the country's customs department.  Salahudein was at St. John's in 2018 and I had a chance to talk to him.  He shared that corruption was widespread and very deep.  He was working hard to correct it but having little success.  He shared that resources would pour into Afghanistan and then disappear.  Though he didn't say it outright, it seems that so many people (inside and outside of the country) were benefitting from the corruption that there was little interest in getting to the bottom of it.  Ultimately Afghanistan was at the mercy of international dynamics that cared little for its actual success.

While I want to say I am a proud and devoted American, if our government was inept and hopelessly corrupt it would be hard to be willing to lay down my life for it.  I can understand why the Afghan army didn't offer much resistance.

Please keep the people of Afghanistan in your prayers.  They are facing a very difficult future.  Many of their hopes and dreams have been crushed.  No one knows what their future holds.  I pray that God will give them hope for the future, and open their eyes to possibilities.

And when you go to bed at night be sure to be thankful that you do not fear that the world will have been upended when the sun rises.