Caspian Report - Issue: 07 - Spring 2014

in the Middle East illustrate that
Jihadi Salafism remains the greatest
challenge to global peace from
Afghanistan.
Conclusion
Uncertainty calls for instability
and powerbrokers negotiate even
harder in Afghanistan. If the young
people of Afghanistan lose hope in
the establishment of a national will
that overcomes the interests of local
actors and power brokers, the
future of Afghanistan will remain in
jeopardy to the detriment of all. The
future of Afghan politics and global
peace are closely interlinked. If the
Taliban returns to power and terrorist
networks grow stronger, then the
“War on Terror” will be lost. Even if
a precarious stability is reached in
Afghanistan, the threat from global
Jihadism will remain. Jihadism can
flourish as long as there are conflicts
in Muslim-majority countries.
No country can afford to believe
that they can use Jihadists for their
national interests without being
harmed. For instance, the US sponsored
the Mujahedeen against the
Soviet Union in the 1980s, and then
became the victim of Al-Qaeda Jihadists
two decades later.
Policies to counter terrorism require
global collaboration. Even the
comparison of various national programs
to de-radicalize Jihadists have
produced inconclusive results. 50 This
is a global challenge that demands
global cooperation. If national actors
calculate their short-term narrow
“national” interests as their only
measurement in understanding and
countering Jihadist terrorism, then
people in Boston, London, Madrid,
Moscow, Istanbul, Nigeria, and Damascus
remain in danger. If Afghanistan
falls into the hands of terrorist
networks again, this will pose a serious
threat to global peace. A successful
political transition and stability in
Afghanistan is necessary for global
peace.
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CASPIAN REPORT, sprIng 2014
50.
Angel Rabasa, Stacie L. Pettyjohn, Jeremy J. Ghez, and Christopher Boucek (2010)
Deradicalizing Islamist Extremists (Arlington VA: RAND Corporation).