Today, partisan bickering is taking precedence over sensible solutions to the AfPak conflict.  Apparently, even the safety of American citizens is considered a side concern when it comes to the labor versus business debate that characterizes much of our domestic – and now foreign policy – discourse.  Democrats say that they are on the side of the workers and Republicans say that unduly constraining business hurts us all.  This debate between the parties has been going on for decades.  Unfortunately, this debate is spilling over into the national security realm and we’re less safe because of it.  It’s time for D’s and R’s to come together on a simple trade issue that can make a difference in the struggle against extremism.

Here’s what is happening.  The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region of Pakistan borders Afghanistan. It’s the home base of Al Qaeda and the many of the Taliban insurgents that stream across the porous border with Afghanistan and attack our troops and destabilize Afghanistan.  Osama Bin Laden is thought to be hiding away in this remote tribal region.  Many believe that if a future 9/11-type attack happens on the United States, its origin will likely be this remote tribal region in Pakistan.

FATA is also one of the poorest and most disenfranchised regions of Pakistan.  The literacy rate in FATA is just 17.42 percent, compared to 43.92 percent in the rest of the country.   It scores quite poorly on most all socioeconomic indicators – and that’s in comparison to the rest of Pakistan, which is not particularly wealthy to begin with.  FATA residents are also marginalized from the political life of their country.  They have no elected representatives in a provincial or national assembly who can legislate on local concerns.  In this environment, it’s not surprising that extremists have had an easy time recruiting for their cause.  No, poverty and marginalization don’t cause terrorism, but they can contribute to an environment where extremism is more likely to take hold.

One step that would help bring FATA residents into the mainstream and out of the recruiting camps of terrorists is economic development.  No, it’s not the only answer.  Political reforms are also key.  I’ve written before on this issue here. But, providing opportunities for FATA residents to improve their lives would be small step in the right direction.  Problem is, economic opportunities are scarce in this remote tribal region.  Workers are generally poorly skilled and infrastructure is severely lacking.

So, how to give a leg up for these workers who already have the cards stacked against them?  Many developing countries rely on textiles to start the climb up the economic ladder.  One suggestion that was put forward by the Bush administration was to demarcate Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) in the FATA region that would eliminate U.S. import duties on goods produced there – textiles in particular.  This could, very quickly, give a distinct advantage to textiles produced in the tribal area  – a potential economic boost to workers in this region who so sorely need it.

This is where U.S. partisan bickering comes into play.  Democrats have put forward a House bill that sets up these ROZs that includes a number of labor protections.  In the Senate, Republicans and Democrats are feuding over whether those protections should be included.  You can guess who is on which side.  David Ignatius describes the debate here. Rather than taking the big picture national security view, both sides seem determined to make this issue the model for future trade arrangements.  That view is short sighted.

Granted, Kim Elliott argues here that this legislation could be much improved if it were expanded to all exports (not just textiles) and expanded beyond just the FATA region.  This is all true.  This makes our failure to even enact this limited legislation even more tragic. Surely there is a way to move beyond this tired old debate between labor and business for the sake of national security?  It’s time for a rationale compromise on this issue.  No, this legislation alone won’t eliminate the threat of terrorism or solve the conflict in Afghanistan/Pakistan.  But, it’s a small part of the long-term solution.

Related posts:

1. 9/11 Style Commission Needed to Review US Policy on Pakistan
2. Bin Laden and the Rocky Road to Islamabad
3. PSA Advisory Board member Marc Grossman named Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan