KILLER MASTERMIND: Osama bin Laden
By Opiyo Oloya
WAR is hell, someone once said and nothing has changed to contradict that sentiment. Smart bombs notwithstanding, war remains barbaric, brutal and bloody. But, last week, for just one gleaming moment, war was actually sweet. This was during the surrender of Taliban forces to their archenemy the Northern Alliance in the northern Afghanistan city of Konduz. As the world watched, former enemies who had sworn to slit each other throats, exchanged high-fives, warm embraces, laughter and sat down to meals of roast beef and rice. Call it what you want, but this is the way wars should be fought. Once negotiations were concluded with handshakes, defeated Taliban soldiers, their heads held high, were allowed to stream out of the besieged city in their trademark pick-ups, still clinging to their Kalashnikovs and RPGs. What’s even more amazing was that instead of being treated like losers, and led away at gunpoints, these soldiers were welcome like heroes. As American marines looked on nervously, there was a lot of clapping, more handshakes, even impromptu dances in the god-forsaken desert sand of Afghanistan.
In one instant of sanity and, I dare add, civilization, Afghan warriors have shown the world that war need not mean until death do us part. For them, so long as the point has been made as to who won the war, there need not be any lingering feelings of ill will. Why take a prisoner-of-war if you can turn him into your most fervent ally? Of course, the American led coalition will have a hard time understanding this ancient wisdom that governs Afghanis victory and defeat-they will want to keep on bombing villages and towns until there is neither goat nor chicken left anywhere in “enemy” territory. It’s this lack of understanding that has often allowed American wars to drag on forever, as was the case in Vietnam.
The same mentality of “either we win or they lose” has bedeviled many regional and internal conflicts in Africa. Somehow, one must keep fighting even when the outcome was long decided. The war in Sierra Leone killed thousands though it was increasingly obvious that neither side could win outright victory. Angola still rumbles like a dormant volcano long after the original cause of the war is forgotten. The SPLA continues to press forward into Sudan though its leadership knows it will never take power by force. In Uganda, ADF and LRA continue to make occasional forays to disrupt life when they know their actions have insignificant impact.
However, this is where the Afghani experience could serve Africa well. The northern Alliance, aided by American bombs could have exacted untold massacre on the Talibans who were completely surrounded. But at the moment of victory, they stopped short, and acting like true victors, reached down to pull up the fallen Talibans. In so doing, the victorious Northern Alliance allowed their former enemies to surrender with their dignity intact.
In the wars with ADF and LRA, the government of Uganda must adopt the attitude of the Northern Alliance, and reach out to the rag-tag rebel forces. This, for example, could mean speaking directly with LRA leader Joseph Kony, and not through some intermediary like the Carter Foundation. Rather than sticking to some vague notions such as “we grant you amnesty if you come out unconditionally”, the parties could speak about concrete details of surrender such as where the former rebels will reside, and what will be offered to integrate them into civil society. In fact, as was shown two weeks ago when more than a dozen former LRA soldiers surrendered without firing a shot, building trusts on both side is crucial to ending these conflicts. Former rebels will not hesitate to come out when they have a clear idea what the future holds for them. However, when they suspect that they are merely being set up for a killing, they will continue the struggle than give up.
In Afghanistan this past weekend, the Northern Alliance and the Taliban forces showed that there is time for showing the barrel of the gun and there is a time to lift the olive branch. Now, how difficult can that be for the rest of the world to understand?