WASHINGTON DC (Zenit.org): As United States military forces prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan, the bishops are urging a responsible transition that promotes community ownership and citizen participation.
Chairman of the Committee on Internat-ional Justice and Peace of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, New York, made this appeal in a letter to National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon.
“We affirm the administration’s commitment to drawing down military operations in Afghanistan,” the prelate said on behalf of the conference.
He pointed out that “a responsible transition should allow the withdrawal of US military forces at the earliest opportunity consistent with the objectives of denying safe havens for terrorist organisations, minimising further loss of human life, assisting refugees and internally displaced persons, and helping Afghans along a path to recovery from decades of war”.
“The success and sustainability of the military drawdown will hinge upon a successful transition to Afghan leadership, much of which must be exercised at the local level given the decentralised nature of Afghan society,” the bishop said.
“As you embark upon what the administration calls an ‘Enduring Partnership’ with Afghanistan, we encourage you to emphasise citizen participation, civil society capacity, accountability and good stewardship.
“We commend the administration’s renewed emphasis on country-ownership in Afghanistan and Pakistan and would expand it to include community-ownership.
“Building local capacity helps establish a foundation for future security, political stability and economic prosperity.” The bishop emphasised building “open and independent government institutions”, while noting that the “brick and mortar consists of civil society, including religious institutions, local councils, universities, women’s groups and others”.
“International private voluntary organisations, such as (Catholic Relief Services), have longstanding relationships with local partners,” he said.
The prelate acknowledged that “while the military drawdown will significantly reduce US costs in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a comprehensive commitment to continued development is critical to long-term success”.
Thus, he asserted that “a responsible transition requires that development and reconstruction funding currently allocated through the Department of Defence be transferred to the Department of State/Agency for International Development”.
“Such funding should be targeted based on need, with particular preference for poor and marginalised persons,” he said.
Bishop Hubbard said bishops remained “deeply concerned about religious freedom in Pakistan and urge it be a major priority in US policy”.
“The failure to protect the religious freedom of all, especially minorities, and to build a pluralistic tolerant society emboldens fundamentalist terror groups,” he said.
In this regard, he noted that “the assassination of the Pakistani Minister of Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian in the cabinet, is a grim reminder of this threat”.
