Gouttierre spoke on Afghan terrorism on 9/11

Last Thursday on the anniversary of 9/11, Thomas Gouttierre, dean of the UNO International Studies Department, gave a talk about terrorism at Creighton University. Gouttierre's lecture, titled "Afghanistan at a Crossroads: Between Terror and Democracy," brought up such issues as Afghanistan's cultural heritage, the current security problems in the country's provinces and the complex composition of the Middle Eastern countries of Iraq, Iran, Israel, Palestine and Pakistan.

In regard to the culture of Afghanistan, Gouttierre spoke about the country's historical title as "the crossroads of Asia," its historical ties to and belief in democratic governance and the richness of its Indo-European, Arabic-scripted language. He mentioned that in Afghanistan today there are mosques and minarets which date back to Tamerlane.

Gouttierre's lecture also brought up Afghanistan's various troubles.

Afghanistan is a country characterized by a congested Kabul from which non-governmental and government organizations alike cannot migrate given the failure of security in the provinces, Gouttierre said. Its agriculture focuses on opium poppies rather than on the wheat and rice production of the past.

The country, Gouttierre said, has also been hijacked by the Taliban, whose influence is most powerful over those in poverty, without access to education and without employment and training opportunities.

Gouttierre said corruption is rampant and donated funds are often misappropriated. He proposed that utilization of the Afghans themselves would be necessary in securing a more stable Afghanistan. This would not only fight unemployment, it would also fight the economic pull towards opium poppy production.

The susceptibility of the populace to the Taliban's influence, Gouttierre postulated, would likewise be eased.

Figuring prominently in Gouttierre talk was an area called the Land of Pashtun, an extremely rugged, 1,500 mile stretch to which much terrorist activity has been traced. He mentioned these as the mountains along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden has long been suspected of hiding.

Gouttierre singled out Pakistan as the No. 1 issue in terms of the war on terror. That country's worldview, he explained, is one totally bent towards dealings with India and, without the protection that can only be afforded by a stable Pakistan, Afghanistan won't be able to progress.

"There's no state in the union that knows more per capita about Afghanistan than Nebraska," Gouttierre said.

Gouttierre backed this claim with a list of programs that exist in this state including the Center for Afghanistan Studies, which he directs at UNO; the work of the Omaha Knights of Columbus and the National Guard; the UNMC Health Education Project in Afghanistan; and the contributions of the Rotary Club.

The lecture, presented by the Asian World Center and the Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at Creighton, was part of the AWC Distinguished Lecture and Werner Institute Speaker Series.