Explore Close
Menu Close

Categories

BlogArticlesSpeechesInterviewsEssaysBook ReviewsLetters

Tags

International developmentIraqUK PoliticsLabour PartyMiddle Eastbiographyextractive industriesIsrael-PalestineAfricaeconomicsreligion and ethicsurbanisationglobalisationenvironmentforeign policyforeign aidChilcot ReportBrexitfeminismEU

Archives

October 2022 August 2022 November 2021 July 2021 March 2021 February 2021 October 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 February 2020
  • Blog
  • Articles
  • Speeches
  • Interviews
  • Other Writings
    • Essays
    • Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Letters
  • About
    • Biography
    • Current Work
    • Gallery
  • Contact

Clare Short

Clare Short

  • Blog
  • Articles
  • Speeches
  • Interviews
  • Other Writings
    • Essays
    • Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Letters
  • About
    • Biography
    • Current Work
    • Gallery
  • Contact
Articles

Hopes for Afghanistan.

thomas_admin on 31st December 2001
Article originally published in The Guardian | 31-December-2001

Afghanistan is virtually a collapsed a state. It is incumbent upon the UK to provide healthcare, education and a framework for peace.

My real hope for the new year is that, post-September 11, the world becomes a more just place – firstly, because it is right, and secondly, because we will all be safer. Clearly, there is a need to dismantle the apparatus of terror, but in its place in Afghanistan we need to help build a society in which those who foster hatred are not welcome.

There are two ways we can go. The first is to divide the world bitterly in two, bomb anyone who gets in your way and then clear off, leaving the Middle East to rage on and allow other countries to be marginalised. The second is to really commit to resolving the conditions that have helped foster this hatred. That means committing to resolving the Middle East situation, promoting development, and giving people help in poor countries. I think we’re going to go one way or another. I hope it’s the latter.

We could do so much, but there are scary moments. When you hear voices in the US – not in the administration but in the media and politics – saying there should be no nation-building in the wake of the military campaign, it is self-evident how disastrous that would be. I’m hopeful we’ll do the right thing; the consequences of doing the wrong thing are too serious to contemplate.

I’m very hopeful that the people of Afghanistan can have a better future. It was virtually a collapsed state, which is why so much hatred has flourished there. A failed state is like a black hole. It sucks in those that surround it, and fosters criminality.

Similarly in Somalia and Sudan, countries that have harboured or may harbour Bin Laden and al-Qaida, we need to assist them in building more constructive, fair and peaceful states. These are just examples of countries that dramatically need help. We have to provide health care, education and peace, because that’s how you create states where the disadvantaged are not driven into the arms of extremists.

I think we need to be more committed to enforcing the same standards of democracy everywhere, rather than ignoring the failings of those countries where it suits us. Some of the Arab countries are not true democracies, and, while we can’t tell people what to do, we can be more consistent in stressing, for example, the rights of girls to go to school.

There is a growing concern among the public about the global situation that makes me optimistic. When I was first elected people used to say: “Why do we care so much about the rest of the world when there are poor people here at home?” Since I’ve been doing this job [four years] I’ve had just two letters like that. I think people, even if they don’t understand globalisation, appreciate there are issues beyond this country’s borders that affect them.

Personally, I’m very happy. It’s great to be involved in government. When I was a student I used to bang the tables in pubs and moan about the World Bank and their policies. Now I go along to the World Bank as the UK representative and bang the table for real. I love my job and I’m very proud of my department, and the people who work in it. And, since my darling son came back, I could not be happier.

Read the original article from the publisher.

  • Posted in: Articles
  • Tagged in: Afghanistan, Middle East

Posted by

All Posts
Leave a comment Hide comments

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Sir Brian Urquhart Award acceptance speech
  • Only a new asylum convention can thwart the people smugglers
  • What’s wrong with aid? LSE lecture
  • Labour’s route to power involves coalition with smaller parties
  • The audacity of change
  • Clare’s recent lecture: Reflecting on the Demise of DfID
  • Britain’s aid budget could soon become little more than a slush fund for business

Content

  • Articles
  • Blog
  • Book Reviews
  • Essays
  • Interviews
  • Letters
  • Speeches

Tags

Afghanistan Africa anti-racism biography Birmingham Brexit Chilcot Report Cities Alliance class Cold War constitution corruption Donald Trump economics education policy electoral reform environment EU European politics extractive industries feminism foreign aid foreign policy globalisation International development international relations Iraq Irish Politics Israel-Palestine Labour Party media Middle East Oxfam publications religion and ethics resources Russia slum dwellers Syria terrorism UK Politics UN United States urbanisation US politics
Previous
How to help the wretched of the earth.
18th December 2000
Next
Clare Short Prospect interview.
20th May 2002

Clare Short was born in Birmingham in 1946. She became MP for Birmingham Ladywood in 1983, subsequently serving as Secretary of State for International Development (1997-2003). Since leaving Parliament she has worked as chair of numerous non-governmental advocacy groups working with communities across the developing world.

Content

  • Articles
  • Blog
  • Book Reviews
  • Essays
  • Interviews
  • Letters
  • Speeches

Recent Posts

  • Sir Brian Urquhart Award acceptance speech
  • Only a new asylum convention can thwart the people smugglers
  • What’s wrong with aid? LSE lecture
  • Labour’s route to power involves coalition with smaller parties
  • The audacity of change
  • Clare’s recent lecture: Reflecting on the Demise of DfID
  • Data Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Republication
  • Contact
  • | Site built by Thomas Bishop ⓒ 2020
© 2023 Paperback Theme by Array.