Malibu Resident Serves in Afghanistan's Parliament

The 9/11 terrorist attacks had a significant effect on Afghanistan native Daoud Sultanzoy, who is better known to his Malibu neighbors as "David." He had left Afghanistan and gained asylum in the United States during the 1979 Soviet invasion, but shortly after 9/11 Sultanzoy returned home, where he became a major player in developing one of the world's newest democracies—serving in the nation's parliament from 2005 to 2010.

Sultanzoy watched the events of 9/11 unfold on television from a hotel in Hong Kong, where as a United Airlines pilot he was staying on a layover.

"I didn't leave my bed for hours," he recalled.

He continued, "One of the pilots that went down was one of my students. I was a check pilot at the time, and that really hit me hard."

Also, Sultanzoy had arrived in Hong Kong two days earlier on one of the planes that was later hijacked.

Sultanzoy contacted an individual at the White House he knew from Afghanistan, and he became part of a group of experts that began a dialogue with Afghan warlords.

"We went to bed with the warlords to defeat the Taliban," he said. 

Sultanzoy's tribal and family roots drew him further into the new political process that was taking place in Afghanistan when he and his father were both chosen to represent the Mullah Khil tribe in the parliament.

"My family has been a leading family in our tribe, a very big Pashtun tribe," Sultanzoy said. "However, my father was in his 80s, so I had to fulfill that responsibility. Later [in 2005], they elected me without opposition."

Sultanzoy represented the volatile Ghanzi Province, located just east of Kabul. He served as chairman of the Economic Committee. Sultanzoy is proud that during his first term in office, he helped to get laws passed regarding capital investment, environmental protection and economic growth. He also took legislative action to stop the looting of government properties and impeach a cabinet minister on corruption charges.

Sultanzoy has been able to return to his Malibu home while the parliament was not in session, but his political life has caused him to be away from his wife Zohra Daoud for lengthy periods of time.

"It was a mutual decision, and I encourage him because his cause is such a noble cause," Daoud said. "We both got our education in Afghanistan, and today we have a good life in America because of that. Now it's time to give back. The Afghanistan cause is my cause too."

Daoud, who in 1972 became the first and only person to win the Miss Afghanistan pageant, stays busy with speaking and radio engagements as well as with her involvement in the Afghan Women's Association of Southern California. The organization, which she co-founded, helps build schools and water wells in Afghanistan and donates clothing and school supplies.

"It's very hard not having your husband around and taking care of a house ... but our children are all finished with university," Daoud said. "We talk every other night on the phone, and I saw him in Kuwait three months ago."

Sultanzoy lost his seat last year in a highly disputed election. It appeared he might regain the position when a special tribunal ruled in June that 62 members of parliament had fraudulently obtained their seats and would be removed from office. But this decision did not go into effect, and instead an election commission had only nine members replaced. Sultanzoy was not one of the replacements. There are still attempts being made to alter the situation.

Sultanzoy has seen progress in Afghanistan, but he admits there is a long road ahead for the young democracy.

"The country still hasn't established a healthy political process," Sultanzoy said. "Instead of criticizing everything, we have to do something in terms of the justice system, jobs, agriculture, irrigation, mining and industry. These things will only happen with a government that has a vision and the support of the population nationwide. Not just this warlord or that warlord."

He said the U.S. presence in Afghanistan has led to several positive changes.

"We didn't have even one TV station before, and now we have 27," Sultanzoy said. "Four to 5 million people are using cellphones. Several million kids are going to school, including girls. There are hospitals, clinics, roads and a government system."

In addition to politics, Sultanzoy is also involved in Afghan television. This year, he started his own weekly talk show called Sultanzoy Sultanzoy. His guests have included a German special envoy, NATO officials and members of the Taliban. Sometimes, he covers tough issues like drug addiction.

"I'm trying to change the way TV is being used here," Sultanzoy said. "I'm trying to go in-depth into societal, political and economic matters—things our society can learn from. I talk about substance and how people can make a difference."

As somebody who has lived in post-9/11 Afghanistan, Sultanzoy is able to provide a perspective that only an insider would know. He said there are many features of the country that might surprise most Americans. When asked about this, the first thing he mentioned was, "Our private sector is becoming the Mafia."

He also said:

"The U.S. [diplomatic community in Afghanistan] is isolated and disconnected from reality. They receive all their information from interpreters and make all their decisions based on that. They're seen by the Afghans as being in a glass bubble. They're not well-received because of that. Some are here just to polish their resumes. [The U.S. government] should send people who are interested in being here. There are some diligent people, but so many are just there to look at the calendar and the clock, and live inside their walled houses."

"America, the victor of PR in the world, is doing a miserable job of selling what they've done in Afghanistan. Humans always have a tendency to look at the negative and not the positive. When the negative is enlarged by the media, the mullahs in the mosques and places like Iran, we need [to counteract that]."

"We need solutions to fight corruption. We need to recognize that corruption isn't just taking bribes and stealing, it's the whole judicial system. Respect is weakening. Gains can be dismantled by chaos. Reform is on its way, and we have to allow it to start working. There needs to be a fear and a feeling of foreboding that the justice system is serious. Establishing the rule of law would solve [many of the problems in Afghanistan]. The population is unhappy due to bad corruption and the lack of rule of law. Poverty is predominant, and because of corruption, the money has not been spent well or distributed properly. A few people have stolen the money and gotten rich. The first step to undoing this is to bring these people to justice. The warlords, the drug lords and some in the private sector have hijacked the whole process. Then we can bring the confidence of the population back, and they'll have a sense of ownership."

"Our religious circles are under the thumb of Pakistan—their mosques are everywhere."

"Affairs were geared to the national and international [non-governmental organizations] based in Afghanistan. The NGOs have become so powerful, they now overshadow and interfere in the emergence of a government."