Blueprint for a new Afghanistan

The Washington Times and President Bush would think I am too negative about Afghanistan’s draft constitution.

In today’s editorial, “Blueprint for a new Afghanistan,” the Washington Times praises the draft. The editorial states that draft constitution effectively balances “hard-line calls for institutionalized Islamic law and the more secular leanings of its urban people.”

I explained here last week, I think these competing interests are, unfortunately, weighted towards institutionalized Islamic law.

It may be true, as the editorial claims, that the draft constitution “appears to reflect the views of most Afghans, who don't want a return to Taliban-style rule, but want their government to have some kind of Islamic nature.” This only indicates that we have failed to adequately demonstrate the advantages of a secular government.

The editorial reported that White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, also praised the release of the draft, saying: "The public issuance of this very important draft, the product of consultation and dialogue among Afghans, marks an important milestone in Afghanistan's development.”

It is certainly true that issuance of the draft constitution is an important milestone. So too will be the resulting Afghanistan governmental structure. The U.S. will surely be seen as responsible for establishing Afghanistan’s governmental structure because we removed the Taliban. We must therefore strive to ensure that our ideals about the benefits of a secular governmental structure are not ignored in the constitution finally adopted by Afghanistan.