OK, we are attacking the Taliban now, who currently rule about 90% of Afghanistan. If they are driven from power the Northern Alliance wants to take over and govern the Afghan region. It has also been said that the U.S. could possibly use the Northern Alliance for ground attacks inside Afghanistan against the Taliban along with Special Forces. At the same time the Northern Alliance has stated that if they do get power there one of the first things they will do is go to war with Pakistan over an age-old border dispute. Pakistan is currently trying to get a consistent and stable relationship with the U.S. which will last over time. It seems like a no-win situation to me. If the U.S. sides with the N.A. then Pakistan will surely not like the U.S. and if we form a consistent relationship with Pakistan then the N.A. are no different to us then the Taliban. How do we deal with the aftermath of driving the Taliban out, if we do so?
First off, the UN has to be involved. Otherwise nothing we do after the military action is finished will have any legitemacy in the eyes of much of the world. Everything must be approved by that body, which really won't be as hard as it sounds. Turkey has promised troops, and they would make ideal peacekeepers (as they are muslims), which would make everything much easier. We are going to tell the NA that they are not going to be the sole rulers of Afghanistan, but only a part of a coalition government (a large part, tho). That might be messy, but there is absolutely no other way to do it. We are also going to inform them of our opinion that going to war with Pakistan would not be their decision to make but the new govt's, and that it would be an extremely unwise choice to make as they would then lose everything - everything - that they have been fighting for. This is all going to take a while, and the US is going to have to be there every step of the way. It might take ten years to rebuild and get a stable government, but since we're tearing down the old I think we have a responsibility to help build the new in any way we can. Just the fact that we show we are committed to such efforts will likely have a very positive effect on the whole process.
