Clacton Coastal Academy

Geography

19 Apr 2023

Afghanistan’s development and security

Objective• Link the previously visited phrase: “No

development without security, no security without development” to the Afghan case study

• Argue the reasons for and against NATO operations in Afghanistan

Clacton Coastal Academy

Geography

• Afghanistan: The dangers ahead (DVD)

19 Apr 2023

Clacton Coastal Academy

Geography

19 Apr 2023

Clacton Coastal Academy

Geography

• Read the speech by this man (Anders Fogh Rasmussen)

• Highlight and annotate the speech, with particular reference to NDWS,NSWD

19 Apr 2023

Clacton Coastal Academy

Geography

No development without security, no security without

development…?

• Development is more than making poor countries richer

• Development includes:– Distribution of wealth– Education– Health– Gender equality and the inclusion of women in

the development process– Economically and environmentally sustainable

No development without security

• Security refers to the kind of security provided by the law and by a stable, well-governed and well-policed society. There must be security from war and from lawlessness if people are to develop for the future.

• Security also means food security, and security in the knowledge that money will be invested in education and health care.

No security without development

• There cannot be any long term security for

– people who do not own enough land– people who live in constant fear of losing

everything in a natural disaster– people who cannot rely on having their children

inoculated against common childhood killer diseases……

AFGHANISTAN

Demographic background

• Difficult to obtain statistics from Afghanistan• Population is estimated at 31,900,000 • Stage 2 of DTM

– Birth rates remain high– Death rates, despite two decades of war are decreasing– Rapid population growth (from 3.9% per annum between

2000 and 2005 to 2.6% now)• Youthful population

– 45% of the population are aged under 15– Fertility rate is 6.8 children per women– Infant mortality rate is 166 per 1,000 live births (one of

the highest in the world)• Estimated that 3 million people have died in wars

and 6 million have cross the border to seek safety in Pakistan and Iran since the official census in 1988

• The country has considerable agricultural potential, especially if irrigation systems were employed. However, the best land is only used growing illegal poppies for the production of heroin

• Afghanistan still produces about 90% of the world’s opium, which accounts for 1/3 of the country’s economy

• Huge parts of the country outside of Kabul are controlled by warlords once funded by the USA to fight against the Taliban

• Taliban (1996-2001)– Educational and carer

opportunities for women were non- existent as the women's place was considered to be in the home

– This extreme lack of opportunity influences the demographic and economic situation in Afghanistan

Political background

• Afghanistan is strategically placed between the Middle East, Asia and the Indian subcontinent

• Afghanistan's King Zahir Shah was overthrown in 1973, which sparked a chain of events that led to civil unrest

• Reforms imposed by a Moscow-backed regime sparked rebellions, and in 1979 Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan

• US-backed Islamic fighters known as mujahideen fought the Soviets. In 1989, the USSR withdrew in defeat, leaving a country devastated by war

• 1994– Islamic Taliban– Sharia law– Allowed Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda members to

remain in Afghanistan

• October 2001– USA and its allies launched a bombing campaign

against the Taliban, marking the beginning of the ‘war of terror’

– Forced the Taliban out of power, but Mullah Omar and Osama Bin Laden evaded capture

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special_reports/uk_troops_in_afghanistan/

No development without security

• One aim of deploying armed forces was to create a more stable environment to allow building and repairing of vital roads, which would make the transportation of good and products within the country easier

• 95% of the heroin used in the UK is from Afghanistan– The British government spends £1.5billion every year

combating the impact of drugs use in the UK every year

• Helmand province, where most British forces are based, was supposed to have received $55 million of ‘alternative livelihood’ development in 2005 but there is no real evidence of the investment

• The Afghan government must expose and prosecute officials engaged in trafficking and corruption

No security without development

• Failure of international aid to make a difference, with serious security consequences

• Upsurge of suicide bombing in Kabul• World bank have warned of an ‘aid

juggernaut’ (2007)

• Improvements in health care• Small rural schemes (drainage, clinics,

small power projects and schools) are being built through the National Solidarity Programme, an international; aid fund managed and distributed by the Afghan government

• HEP turbine in Helmand region in 2008

• International officials and consultants in Afghanistan are on high salaries and short-term contracts

• Afghan government is concerned that the international community will not allow Afghanistan to determine aid priorities for itself

• Poppy cultivation: – On ground surveillance versus $10 million for

aerial photography – Fear that the war on drugs has been lost

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b015bt10

• 12:18

Clacton Coastal Academy

Geography

• Comment on the effectiveness of foreign forces in terms of creating a developing yet stable society in places affected by war.

19 Apr 2023