DCM Haidari Meets with Author of “Afghanistan: A Distant War”

New Delhi: - Deputy Chief of Mission M. Ashraf Haidari met with Mr. Robert Nickelsberg, author of a photojournalistic book on “Afghanistan: A Distant War” on March 6, 2014, following the author’s talk on the book earlier, which Mr. Haidari attended. They discussed the author’s collection of captivating images of the Afghan people amid the ongoing conflicts of the past three decades. The images illustrate how a peaceful nation in a far-flung part of the world became a victim of international and regional politics in the context of the Cold War and its end. Going through the images and essays in the book, “a distant war” appears to be actually a “near war,” one that could harm the security of the United States and its NATO allies, if they didn’t stay the course in Afghanistan to assist with the long-term stabilization and development of the country.

Afghanistan’s images of the 1980s show how the country was sandwiched between the West and the former Soviet Union, resulting in the country’s utter destruction and unspeakable human suffering, from which most Afghans have yet to recover. The images of the 1990s illustrate how Afghanistan abandoned by the West, following the collapse of the former Soviet Union, became a safe haven for transnational terrorists, who used the country as a no man’s land to launch worldwide attacks on the West’s interests and assets. And the images of this past decade portray a new Afghanistan, following international intervention in response to the consequences of having neglected the country in the 1990s.

In response to a question from audience about the difference in perception of the Afghan people of the NATO forces versus the former Soviet troops in Afghanistan, Mr. Haidari noted that while the former continue to be considered “liberators” of the country, the latter were always considered “invaders and occupiers” of Afghanistan. To the extent that Afghans’ perception of NATO forces has negatively changed is because of “our shared failures” to protect civilians against a terror campaign, which is based outside Afghanistan, Mr. Haidari noted. He pointed out that Afghans’ continued support for NATO remains a strategic asset, which must be fully exploited to ensure long-term success in Afghanistan, thereby helping maintain regional stability and international peace and security.