Out of the war: policies for an Australian contribution to a sustainable peace in Afghanistan

• Richard Tanter
• The Nautilus Institute

Read the full text

16 December 2010This paper sets out eight policy initiatives by which the Australian government and civil society could constructively move towards a foundation of sustainable peace in Afghanistan:

1 Withdraw all Australian forces: completely, rapidly and unconditionally.

2 Move the United Nations towards a more balanced position.

3 Form like-minded country groupings to frame honest broker role in an international push for peace negotiations.

4 Deny sanctuary to terrorists through containment, leverage, criminalization of terrorism, intelligence and policing, and overt deterrence.

5 Declare ongoing aid commitment comparable to war effort – strictly conditional on civil rights compliance.

6 Build a peace agenda that includes the constitutional framework and borders of Afghanistan.

7 Pilot test legitimate alternatives to the opium war economy.

8 Get serious about democracy in Pakistan.

The paper concludes by stating that they are surely no less utopian than the publicly claimed - and privately denied - certainties of current war policies.