Window of opportunity
The chance has arisen for real change to finally come to Afghanistan. Monday's meeting - switched from Berlin to Bonn last night - of the war-ravaged country's factious leaders gives impetus to a process that has moved giddily forward since the Taleban deserted Kabul.
But the pace must continue smoothly and a leader chosen quickly to head an interim coalition body. Creation of a peacekeeping force - comprising United Nations troops - is equally as pressing a task. Without either, the people of Afghanistan cannot have the management or security they so desperately need to thrive and grow. With the guidance of international advisers and the generosity of donors, the long but sure path to growth and prosperity can begin.
Afghanistan's immediate past has been grim. Decades of bloodshed, misrule and foreign interference have ground its proud peoples into a poverty unrivalled in central and southern Asia. But the 'golden age' of former king Mohammed Zahir Shah's reign is the stuff of hope and a return to the relative prosperity of those years is possible. The king may yet return as head of state, and, although 87 years old and frail, he may still represent the peaceful future Afghans yearn for.
The transition will not be without pitfalls. Warlords will doubtless let greed and personal ambition get in the way of democratic ideals and stake their turf. Bandits and looters may re-emerge. Foreign powers may try to influence, cajole and infiltrate as they have done before. The Tajik-dominated Northern Alliance - militarily controlling half the country - may refuse to give up its hold and insist on retaining power.
But a vision and international policing will ensure that the blueprint for the future mapped out over coming months come to fruition. Most importantly, a generation of youth, tired of occupations and war and suppression and killings, are gradually replacing the leaders of the past two decades. They are the future and with the help of the UN and donor nations they can succeed in reinventing Afghanistan.
