In the name of Allah Most Merciful Most Gracious

To the Honorable Robert Menendez

U.S. Senate

Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations,

Washington, D.C.
RE: Afghanistan
Dear Chairman Menendez:

Karzai appears to be under house arrest and not able to leave Afghanistan, although he wants to leave. The U.S.  has selected Mr. Bismillah Mohammadi to attend the upcoming NATO meeting although he is no longer defense minister? First of all he has no authority to represent the Afghan people. Most important, he is an uneducated warlord and war criminal, who does not have the ethics and educational background to represent the majority of Afghan people. His attendance at the NATO meeting will not bring peace in Afghanistan.

The failed Afghan presidential election will not bring peace in Afghanistan, but  I fear  that  Afghanistan is on the verge of more ethnic cleansing and violence. Ethnic cleansing and war crimes must stop and be prevented. It is time good educated Afghan people  be allowed to act and implement their peace plan to  prevent  more violence  especially ethnic cleansing.

As the presidential election has failed due to the systemic fraud and corruption and interference by foreign countries, I believe the only solution to bringing peace in Afghanistan is the ending of occupation and the removal of all foreign troops. Second, I believe the United States must hold peace talks directly with the Afghan  Freedom Fighters.   The United States’ strategy and policy must change from war to a negotiations strategy. The Afghan and American people are thirsty for peace. Thus, it is time to change the United States’ policy towards Afghanistan because it has not been effective these past 14 years. 

The United States’ approach of selecting Afghan puppets to lead Afghanistan has not worked.  Its war against the Pashtun people, the natives of Afghanistan, has not worked.  These approaches will not work in the future.  Years ago, I, along with other educated Afghans, drafted a plan for peace. It is time the United States allows Afghans to implement their own plans for peace, because the United States’ plan and approach has not worked. It has just caused more chaos in Afghanistan, in the region and in the world. It has economically harmed Americans. More important, it has harmed the United States’ moral reputation in the world.

I am working with  a group of Afghan brothers and sisters. We do not have blood on our hands and are not accused of crimes by any human rights commission or organizations, the United Nations, and/or the general Afghan public. We rely on Islamic principles, our Afghan code of honor and our history of independence, and having a genuine desire to end the war in Afghanistan.  We unite to work to bring peace and stability to our beloved homeland through lawful means.  We, Afghans, condemn terrorism of any kind, conducted by any individual, group, or state. Afghans are not responsible for the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001. None of the individuals on the airplanes that attacked the United States were Afghan citizens. Furthermore, we believe that Afghanistan should not be collectively punished for the actions of others.

I along with another member of our group went to Afghanistan to talk with all Afghan groups to obtain their perspectives on how to achieve Afghan unity and peace. We traveled to many provinces including Helmand, Kunar, Jalalabad, Shamali and others.   We made this trip because we do not want to see more bloodshed when the U.S. withdraws in 2014 due to chaos and a leadership vacuum.

We met and discussed how to achieve peace and unity with Afghan resistance leaders, UNAMA officials, with the Deputy Ambassador of the U.S. Embassy, religious scholars, Shia religious leaders,  tribal leaders, many ministers and parliament members of the Kabul government, Afghan women organizations, Afghan engineering and medical societies and other organizations, presidents, deans, and professors from universities across Afghanistan, leaders from various political parties, Abdullah Abdullah, Jamiat Islamia, Northern Alliance, influential Afghans, and last but not least villagers.

The main concerns and opinions that were expressed by Afghans to us are the following:

• Afghans want unity and peace. They want an end to the war and foreign troops to leave. Afghan people want a friendship with the U.S. but they want their true independence. They are looking for a true national leader not a corrupt one nor one selected for them. Afghans believe they do not have a national leader.

  The Afghan resistance wants to negotiate directly with the U.S. without any foreign countries interfering. They do not want to repeat the mistakes made during the 1980s during the Soviet occupation and war when the negotiations went through Pakistan.

  Freedom for Afghan women means an Afghan woman being able to live in her country, with her family, with her culture being respected, with her honor in tact, with her faith being respected, and without foreign drones and intelligence balloons flying and buzzing overhead, without puppet leaders in Kabul, and without the constant fear of foreign soldiers invading her home and privacy, terrorizing her and threatening her safety and honor. When speaking to U.S. Congressional committees and before the Council on Foreign Affairs, Mr. James Dobbins always emphasized that almost all Afghan women possess cell phones since the U.S. invasion and occupation. Cell phone possession does not mean freedom for Afghan women. Afghan women are experiencing problems under the corrupt Afghan government. The U.S. support of corrupt officials has harmed Afghan women.  Rape and other crimes against women have increased. Afghans do not like the Karzai government and other war profiteers using Afghan women and children as sex slaves for foreigners.

• Afghans do not want a corrupt government with war lords and communist war criminals like they have now. They want a government that represents all Afghans. Afghans do not want puppet leaders selected by a foreign country or through a corrupt fraudulent election.

  The United States is using United Nations especially UNAMA to do its dirty work. On September 30, 2012, while I was in Afghanistan when I met with Dr. Talatbek Masadykov, Director of Political Affairs for UNAMA (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan), he told me that his agency cannot do anything without the United States’ approval. Right now the United States is using UNAMA to count the votes for the runoff election. It is important who counts the votes. Another U.S. puppet UNAMA is counting the votes .

  Afghans fear there will be blood shed when the troops withdraw in 2014 and ethnic retaliation because of the division caused by the foreigners and Karzai government during these past years.

  Afghans believe that the Afghan High Peace Council is not capable of bringing peace because during the past three years they have accomplished nothing except some members have increased their wealth.

  The Pashtun, the majority, are being killed and treated as enemies by the U.S. The Pashtun people do not understand why the U.S. is treating them in this manner. The Pashtun people throughout Afghanistan are very angry. They realize that the U.S. is trying to divide the Pashtuns. They fear that this division will cause more bloodshed and innocent lives lost.

  Afghans are greatly concerned and angry about the killing of civilians and about their tribal and religious Islamic leaders, and outspoken students, who are political activists,  who are being targeted and killed by the U.S/NATO and the Afghan army.

  Afghans are concerned that their vast mineral wealth, rare earth elements and other earth materials are being stolen by the war lords, war profiteers and the foreigners. They believe that the majority of the Afghan people will become poorer while a few Afghan war profiteers will become extremely wealthy.

  Afghan people do not understand why the U.S. keeps paying aid monies and CERT monies to war profiteers, members of political parties like Jamiat Islami, Hezb-e Islami, Dostum, Sayaf, warlords and the Karzai government when the reconstruction is not taking place or is very shoddy such as the bridge in Kunar.

  Afghans are concerned about the contamination of their environment by uranium –tipped weaponry and lack of infrastructure to handle the waste properly.

• The Afghan people have suffered too much for too long because of four decades of war due to foreign invasions and occupations. The United States and NATO claim that they are in Afghanistan to secure peace and build a democracy, but in reality they are there for geopolitical reasons, such as to build and maintain a permanent strategic military base, to build and maintain a pipeline from the Caspian Sea region and to exploit Afghanistan’s vast untapped mineral resources the REEs.
• The majority of Afghans do not want the foreign occupation or interference. Afghans want to decide their own future. Afghans are capable of bringing peace and stability without the interference of neighboring and other foreign countries.  Afghanistan must achieve its independence. History has shown that Afghans never accept foreign invasion and occupation. Afghans cherish their freedom and independence.
• Afghans must unite and not allow foreign occupiers to divide Afghans by ethnicity, tribe, language and gender affiliation.
• The Afghan government established and supported by the West is ineffective and corrupt. It cannot bring peace, stability and security.
• The occupation of Afghanistan by the United States and NATO is a violation of international law. Foreign troops must withdraw.
• Afghanistan must protect its vast untapped natural resources and use them to benefit all of the Afghan people.
• An aggressive plan for the elimination of governmental corruption and illicit narcotics trade needs to be adopted and enforced with new laws passed that prohibit corrupt practices.

_____________________________

PROPOSED PLAN FOR PEACE

I along with other Afghans  propose the following Plan for Peace which incorporates the concerns and desires of the Afghan Majority:

• The Ending of Foreign Occupation of Afghanistan
• Afghans themselves with the help of our group must work to broker a ceasefire in Afghanistan.
• The Afghan freedom fighters or resistance must be included in any and all peace talks.
• All non-Afghan armed individuals, foreign troops, and mercenaries (private contractors) must leave Afghanistan before or in 2014 in accordance with the Chicago Accord.
• All prisons, detention, rendition, interrogation centers or facilities maintained or used by foreigners inside and outside of Afghanistan must be closed and all prisoners of war and political prisoners inside and outside of Afghanistan must be released.
• There must be no permanent foreign bases in Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan leads the world in mine infestation and environmental contamination due to three decades of foreign invasion and occupation, and war. The United Nations, the United States, NATO and Russia must aid in the de-mining of and the elimination of the environmental contamination  in Afghanistan. Villagers removed from the areas around the REE deposits in Helmand Province must be allowed to return and their villages rebuilt.
• Establishment of New Governance and Revision of the Constitution
• Our group will supervise the selection of tribal leaders (representatives) from each province or district. These leaders will participate in a loya jerga, which will form the interim government. These leaders must not be the same individuals that participated in the BONN conference in 2001, which failed the Afghan and American people.
• For a period of 3- years, an interim government must be formed by a Loya Jerga (the Peace Jirga). It must not be a current warlords and war criminals dominated government based on ethnicity, gender, language or gun power. It should be based on qualifications, professionalism, effectiveness, transparency and accountability. It must not be dominated by any one faction, party, ethnic group or foreign interest
• This interim government will pave the way for a democratically elected government.
• The Afghan constitution must be revised without foreign interference.
• A new, smaller and more effective national army and police force must be formed and trained. This army and police force must not be controlled by one or a few ethnic groups to the detriment of others. The present army and police are controlled by the Tajik which has been ethnically cleansing the Pashtun.
• The Afghan government needs to resume and declare its neutrality. New treaties should be entered into with regional powers, Great Britain, France, Germany, the United States and other countries regarding non-interference.
• National tribunals need to be established for the prosecution of top or high level war criminals from 1978 to the present. Reconciliation and reintegration should be allowed for low level war criminals after proper actions such as public apologies and restitution have been provided.
• Elimination of Corruption
• An aggressive plan for the elimination of governmental corruption and illicit narcotics trade needs to be adopted and enforced with new laws passed that prohibit corrupt practices. Those individuals or companies convicted for corruption must not be allowed to be a member of the government nor awarded any government contracts or grants. The government must give alternatives to small farmers growing poppies. Large scale poppy production and narcotics drug rings must be prosecuted and their assets seized regardless of who they are. Private security companies’, foreign and Afghan, trafficking in illicit narcotics must be investigated, stopped, and prosecuted.
• A new independent enforcement body must be formed by the Afghan government to investigate and stop corrupt practices and acts.
• Afghan traditional conscription for the army should be reinstated as a way to lessen corruption with the constant influx of new Afghan soldiers.
• Reconstruction of Infrastructure, Rebuilding the Economy and Social Reforms
• The reconstruction of Afghanistan’s infrastructure and economy must be the top priority. Aid monies and funds must be managed in a fund similar to the one established after WWII by the Marshall Plan. Strict rules for awarding monies and monitoring government contracts and projects must be enforced.
• Afghanistan must protect its vast natural resources and use them to benefit all of the Afghan people. Nationalization of companies involved in mining, piping etc may need to be done. Foreign investment and foreign businesses involved in the natural resources must be very closely monitored. Geological surveys of the untapped resources must be conducted by a non-puppet  Afghan government  to locate and protect the natural resources and the environment, and to ensure maximum benefit to the Afghan people.
• For a period of years, Afghanistan should be allowed to freely trade its goods around the world without tariffs, sanctions or the like.
• The agricultural sector must be a top priority and restored. Working with the United Nations and other organizations, Afghans must be educated and trained on best farming practices for their land. Dams and canals must be rebuilt.
• A public education system for all children and vocational training for adults must be established to create an educated and technically trained labor force. Schools must be rebuilt by the government and not just in the wealthy areas .
• Emphasis must be placed on rebuilding Afghanistan’s colleges and universities by attracting top professors and training staff and linking them with their counterparts in other countries.
• Community programs to care for orphans, widows and the needy must be established in accordance with Islam.
• Strict laws must be adopted to protect women and children from sexual exploitation and the sex trade in accordance with Islam.
• Refugees
• The problem of internal and external refugees must be immediately addressed in collaboration with the international community.
• With the help of the United Nations and the Afghan Army and police, internal refugees must be allowed to return to their villages and properties.
• The Afghan government must encourage all external refugees to return especially the educated ones, who can use their education and experience to help rebuild Afghanistan.

• Steps to Implement the Plan

  We have provided our reasons for uniting to work to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan, we have adopted a plan, and lastly, praying that Allah (SWT) keeps us on a straight path and with the well-being of all Afghans in our hearts, we will take the following steps to implement our Plan for Peace:

  1. First Phase- Develop Proposed Plan After Meeting With Afghans from All Sides
  2. Our group will meet with all sides to determine the demands, requirements, perspectives and ideas for peace of  all sides in the conflict.
  3. Our group will  review the demands, requirements, perspectives and ideas for peace to then identify possible compromises.
  4. Our Group will review all peace plans and proposals, incorporate compromises if necessary and combine into one plan.
  5. Second Phase -Negotiations

  1.  The first step to implement this Plan for Peace must be:  (1) The United States needs to talk directly in face-to-face meetings with the Afghan resistance without the presence of the Kabul government, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, etc.

  2.There must be an exchange of prisoners.

  3. Our group will sit at the negotiation table with Afghan Resistance and all   sides.

  4. Our group will modify the plan, if necessary, to reach workable solutions for peace.

  3. Third Phase-Peace Jirga , Interim Government, and Elections Conducted by Afghans
  4. Peace Jirga.  A national jirga will be held. The purpose for this Peace Jirga is to elect, form and establish an Afghan interim government.  Foreign actors or interference will not be allowed in the process. Afghans will control the jirga process as the loya jirga is their traditional process used by their ancestors for thousands of years. Afghans do not want the loya jirga process hijacked  and corrupted by foreigners again. In addition, the jirga will  form provincial councils to ensure that  membership is based on the population of the provinces or districts with the majority and the minorities represented.
  5. Afghan Interim Government. The interim government will be elected for a term of three (3) years to do the fundamental work with the goal of establishing better administration and maintaining peace, stability and the independence of Afghanistan . It must be effective enough to lead to a subsequent freely elected representative government, which is composed of leaders, who are from all ethnic groups and includes but is not limited to  intellectuals, technocrats, members of the resistance and women. It must  not   include Afghans, who are corrupt or have a history of  governmental or financial corruption or a history of illegal or illicit behavior.
  6. The Interim government will seek to restore complete peace. To achieve that goal, the interim government has a duty to talk to those Afghan armed resistance, which may have been left out of the peace process .
  7. The interim government will amend and draft a new constitution in accordance with Islamic laws and national values, which guarantees human rights, the rights of women and reflects Afghan society and reality.
  8. The interim government will practice a foreign policy of neutrality and not allow Afghan soil to be used against any other country or group or by any foreign country or group. Afghanistan will be part of the vision of a fair and rule-based world wherein the rights of the weak must be respected and upheld.
  9. The interim government will ensure that the withdrawal of all foreign troops and forces and the closure of all foreign military bases in Afghanistan occurs  as scheduled.
  10. The interim government will free all non-criminal prisoners and close all foreign prisons and detention centers.
  11. Treaties and accords not in Afghanistan’s national interest will be abrogated.
  12. The interim government will work with the United Nations and the Islamic Conference to do the necessary work so that Afghan refugees can return.
  13. The interim government with the help of the United Nations and the Islamic Conference will take the necessary steps to get ready for a free election.
  14. The interim government will work with the international community to bring high level war criminals, those persons involved in governmental corruption, and those persons, who illegally and/or unjustly secured wealth to justice in appropriate independent war crimes tribunals and through civil proceedings in national and/or international courts. 
  15. The interim government will work with NGOs and similar organizations, but the NGOs will work under the direction and supervision of the interim government.
  16. Finally, at the end of the interim government’s term, members of the interim government cannot be candidates in the free election.
  17. Free Democratic Elections.  Free elections will be held to select national leaders, who will focus on all steps of the peace plan.
  18. I strongly believe that our peace plan, if truly implemented, can lead to peace and stability in Afghanistan, which will be beneficial to all Afghans, Americans, the region and the world. The United States’ approach  and policy has not worked , but rather caused more suffering, violence and chaos. It is time to take the right approach. Throwing large amounts of money at war criminals, war lords, thugs, drug traffickers, greedy war profiteers, and communists war criminals like Doshtum and interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs has not brought peace. For your information,  I have attached a video showing Bismillah Mohammadi, who was at that time Interior Minister, at a Bacha Bazi Party, where boys dance for older men and do other favors for the men. He has two young boys next to him. This sexual abuse is not acceptable in Afghan culture and in Islam. The United States has been supporting this type of individual in the Afghan government. Enough is enough.  He does not need to be in Afghanistan’s government representing the Afghan people at a NATO conference. I may be reached at (269) 353-7044. Thank you for time and consideration.

      Sincerely,

      Kadir A. Mohmand

      6147 Old Log Trail

      Kalamazoo, MI 49009

      Former Representative of the Afghan Mujaheddin for North America during the 1980s

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gM_XTXczNU

_____________________________

Kadir A. Mohmand

Abdul Kadir Mohmand was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. He currently resides at Kalamazoo, Michigan. He graduated from Kabul High School. On an UNESCO scholarship, Mr. Mohmand studied at Sofia University, Bulgaria from 1976 until 1978 when his studies were interrupted by the Communist seizure of power in Afghanistan. The new Afghan Communist government ordered the Bulgarian government to return him to Afghanistan because he was anti-communist. Mr. Mohmand requested political asylum. With the help of the United Nations and the U.S. Embassy, he arrived to Italy and then the United States in 1979.

Mr. Mohmand returned to his studies and earned his B.S. in 1983 from Western Michigan University. He found employment in various positions in the engineering business. For many years, he worked for BFI and was country operations manager for BFI Italia. Currently, Mr. Mohmand owns a shopping center and develops commercial properties.

During the 1980s, Mr. Mohmand was the Representative of the Afghan Mujahideen for North America. During the 1980s, Mr. Mohmand returned to Afghanistan to fight as a freedom fighter against the Soviets and Afghan communists. Through an arrangement with Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Mr. Mohmand would bring back wounded Afghan children and Mujahideen for medical treatment at Borgess and recuperation in his home in Kalamazoo. He formed and was president of a nonprofit, Aid for Afghanistan.

In the 1980s, Mr. Mohmand also worked with the Committee for a Free Afghanistan in Washington D.C to bring wounded Afghans to the United States for medical treatment.

For the past four decades Mr. Mohmand has dedicated his life to working to achieve true peace and stability in Afghanistan.

A few years ago, Mr. Mohmand organized educated Afghans intellectuals across the world who drafted a comprehensive plan for peace. Presently, he has united many different Afghan peace organizations under one umbrella. The goal of this network is to unite Afghans to bring true peace in and the independence of Afghanistan. This network wants to be the bridge between the Afghan freedom fighters and the silent Afghan majority, and the Western World in any peace negotiations.

Mr. Mohmand wants true peace and stability in Afghanistan. As a veteran of war, Mr. Mohmand hates war.