Exactly fourteen years ago, on September 11, 2001, an event that none of us will forget changed the global geopolitical balance forever: the Twin Towers in New York, symbol of the United States and the Western world, were demolished by an impressive terrorist attack by Al Qaeda. Fourteen years after the war against the Taliban, started immediately by then President George Bush, it is not over yet, but many things have changed in Afghanistan.
The point is made Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai, who on the eve of the anniversary met in Rome, at the Sioi headquarters a stone's throw from Piazza Venezia, the former Foreign Minister and current president of the Italian Society for International Organization, Franco Frattini. Karzai, namesake of President Hamid who led the democratization phase until 2014, first of all thanked the Italian military: “Your contribution was fundamental, we will be forever grateful. The Italian military, in addition to defending our territory, contributed to the construction of schools, infrastructures, and were warmly welcomed by the population".
Italy has participated in the ISAF mission since 2003, committing a total of 2.250 soldiers out of a total of 58.000, coming from about forty nations. In total, from the beginning of the mission to its end in 2014, more than 3.000 men lost their lives, of which 53 were Italians. The Italian contingent had command of the western area, that of the delicate area around Herat, while the north was under German control, the capital Kabul under French control and the southern and eastern areas under North American control. "The Italian forces were also important in forming our current police force, which allows us to guarantee security in the country even now that the International Security Assistance Force has completed its mission", recalled the exponent of the new Ashraf government Ghani, elected a year ago and succeeded Karzai, of which Ghani was finance minister.
“For the first time – Deputy Minister Karzai pointed out – a president-elect has succeeded another president-elect”. Hamid was in fact appointed interim president already in 2001, but democratically elected only in 2004 (first in the history of the country) and then again in 2009, before leaving Ghani to the new government. "The political one is only one of the three main transitions that Afghanistan is going through – continued Karzai on his visit to Rome -: then there are the economic and the military ones".
The deputy foreign minister explains how the presence of ISAF, as well as in the fight against Taliban terrorism, was also important for revive the country's economy: “The presence of international forces has created a network that has given opportunities to many people”. Karzai is really convinced of this: "The situation compared to fourteen years ago is like night and day: the economy is growing, there have been steps forward from a social point of view and we finally have a functioning health system". Not only that: faced with the international humanitarian and diplomatic crisis, Karzai claims that “the country will know play a central role in both the Middle East and Southeast Asia, also as an economic hub: I am thinking above all of energy (the country, despite enormous investments, still depends on imports for electricity, ed), for which we can play an important role given our strategic position between Asia, the Middle East and Europe".
The military transition has instead already been completed, even if it may not be enough to stem the terrorism, including the advancing Daesh, which however worries Karzai relatively: "Our situation is different from that of Iraq", he specified. For the formation of a local security able to stand on its own legs, the Italian contribution was once again decisive: if Afghanistan now has a border police at its disposal, made up of more than 23.000 agents of various ranks, it is thanks to the work alongside the Guardia di Finanza. In particular in the province of Herat, close to the important border with Iran, a nation with which there are strong trade exchanges, so much so that according to official data, about 40% of the revenues of the Afghan state come from customs duties collected in this 'area.
