One thing Karzai is right about: Lack of trust is a problem. From this end, it's because Karzai is operating a massive kleptocracy, not in the least by having provided cover for his late brother, who was allegedly one of the world's major drug kingpins.
Even Fox News thinks its time to go. Ordinarily, having the same view as the Murdoch Empire would give me cause to question my conclusions, but not this time.
Two presidents across four terms have tried to tame that country. They've both failed, though arguably, one (
Stop spending our soldier's blood and our treasure on that shithole.
End this fiasco.
So Karzai gave the Loya Jirga stoning in return for approval of the SOFA. How much more is he demanding in his weekly bag of cash to sign it?
ReplyDeleteAfghanistan is first mentioned as such with the note that they are highwaymen... "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" (Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr). Many of the Afghan heroes started or spent time as highwaymen...why should we expect any less from Karzai?
ReplyDeleteSince overthrowing the Persians in 1709, the general area we call Afghanistan has been the focus of external groups seeking, unsuccessfully, to control it. These include the Persians, the Sikhs (with British backing), the Indians (with British backing, First Anglo-Afghan War), the British (Second and Third Anglo-Afghan War), the Soviet Union/Russia, and the United States (need I mention, with British support).
During all this fun, internal rebellions continued against those seeking to modernize (abandon the burqa, educate women, etc) as early as 1928-29. The winners reversed these changes. While I would love to improve the lot of the Afghan people, especially the girls/women, it's simply not going to happen unless we're willing to commit vast piles of money and personnel over at least 40 years, and even then it's a crap shoot. I despair over the fate of those innocents, but am at a loss to find a way to solve the issue with force.