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The Honorable Don Ritter, Sc.D., Chairman
Member of Congress 1979-1993
209 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20003 USA
Tele: (202) 543-1177 Fax: (202) 543-7931
May 19 - June 06, 1998
The Afghanistan Foundation is pleased to share with you the role it is playing in regards to the current situation in Afghanistan. As you may be aware, the Afghanistan Foundation is a non-profit organization, based in Washington D.C., that seeks to raise the level of awareness, understanding and action on issues related to Afghanistan in U.S. policymaking circles. The Foundation is a partnership between Afghans and Americans with strong ties to Members in the U.S. Congress and policymaking community who have, over the years, worked to assist the people of Afghanistan on military, humanitarian, refugee and other aid issues.
As a former U.S. Congressman (1979-1993) I founded and co-chaired the Congressional Task Force on Afghanistan and now serve as Chairman of the Afghanistan Foundation. The five member research team that the Foundation recently sent to Afghanistan and its bordering countries to probe the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and its global impact, has returned.
The Afghanistan Foundation mission visited five countries in the region while focusing on the problems in the north and south of Afghanistan. The results exceeded our expectations. Despite difficult obstacles, such as the ongoing civil war, earthquakes, and nuclear tests in Pakistan, we were able to meet with senior officials from various parties to the conflict including the Taliban, the Northern Alliance, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Russia. Our Foundation’s modus operandi, to seek common ground, was welcomed by participants on all sides of the conflict. People are tired of war.
The three-week research mission was successful not only in developing excellent information for its central focus, a seminal "White Paper" (described below), but also in strengthening relationships with the key players. All the parties in Afghanistan and in the region seemed to embrace the Foundation, and the ideals it stands for, with great enthusiasm.
Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski and General Brent Scowcroft
National Honorary Co-Chairmen
We had rigorous but positive discussions with Pakistani Foreign Ministry officials, "think tanks," military, and ISI leadership. We met with key players in the North, save Khalili who was in Saudi Arabia, and Masoud who was preoccupied with the fighting. However, we were able to spend quality time with General Dostum, Commander Mohammad Moaqeq and his colleagues, Mullah Jawed and Commander Anwari along with some of his associates. Then, we met with the Taliban Ambassador in Pakistan, Mojahid, and numerous important Afghans engaged in various issues in Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad. We enjoyed great cooperation from the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA) and U.S. officials on the scene. We have developed working relationships with U.N. and U.S. policymakers on the ground like Takahashi, Kabulov, Schifferdecker, Eastham, Novak, etc. In the South, we were able to spend four hours with Mullah Whakil Ahmad and his Taliban contingent.
We also developed important relationships in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Russia. In Uzbekistan we met with the Deputy Foreign Minister and learned of strong Uzbek interest in having a broader involvement in Afghan issues. In Russia, we met with Alexander Sadovnikov of the Third Department for Asia as well as his colleagues in the Foreign Ministry. We have initiated communication with Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, Lukin, and ex-General Gromov, who is a key member of the Parliament, as well as the Russian Ambassador to the U.S., Yuli Vorontsov, for a potential U.S.-Russia Interparliamentary Exchange -- on the subject of Afghanistan. At our recent meeting in Moscow with members of the Russian Foreign Ministry, and later with U.S. Embassy officials, the Afghanistan Foundation's research team was able to learn more about potential common ground between the United States and Russia to work cooperatively on Afghanistan. Although we were not granted visas, we are working hard to include Iran in the picture as well. The Administration’s steps toward opening talks with Iran are important.
In an attempt to further the peace-building process in Afghanistan, the Foundation is currently developing its White Paper on U.S. Policy toward Afghanistan that will be circulated among key policymakers in the Administration, Congress, the U.N. and elsewhere. It seeks to form the basis for building a higher level of momentum and understanding, while focusing on potential common grounds and solutions for Afghanistan and its suffering people. The goal of the research mission and the forthcoming White Paper is to create a vehicle for communication of vital information, analysis and policy ideas to the Congress and Administration in an effort to further the U.S. capacity to engage proactively on Afghanistan as well as related South and Central Asian issues.
The White Paper Task Force developing the policy paper includes prominent scholars and specialists on Afghanistan and the region, as well as a bipartisan group of key Members of Congress. These include: Dr. Harold Saunders, former White House and U.S. State Department official; Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad, RAND Corp.; Dr. Tom Gouttierre,
Director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska; Dr. Elie
Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski and General Brent Scowcroft
National Honorary Co-Chairmen
Krakowski, President, EKD, and former Department of Defense official; Dr. Fred Starr, Chairman, Central Asia Institute, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University; Dr. Tom Eighmy, former Afghanistan AID official; Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT), Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; Senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE), Select Committee on Intelligence; Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-NE), Chairman, Subcommittee on Asia, House International Relations Committee; and Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), House International Relations Committee.
In recent years the people of Afghanistan have suffered the apathy and neglect of the international community, including that of the United States. Afghanistan is becoming a festering worldwide sore due to international terrorism, narcotics and organized crime syndicates. Civil war wracks Afghanistan and most vestiges of civil society lie in ruins. Key energy and development opportunities are stymied. Now is the time to act for durable peace and sustainable development in Afghanistan.
We are hopeful that the White Paper can form the basis for building continued momentum and understanding regarding policy solutions for Afghanistan and its suffering people. We believe that it will contribute substantively to the elevation of U.S. policy toward the region. Former U.N. Ambassador Richardson’s visit to Afghanistan, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s travels to the region, and her expressed concerns, as well as Assistant Secretary of State Rick Inderfurth’s professionalism and dedication, all must be forged into a strong policy capacity where "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts." The Foundation stands ready to help make it happen.
The Honorable Don Ritter
Chairman
Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski and General Brent Scowcroft
National Honorary Co-Chairmen