If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If I'm right, then Afghan women are leading the way down a path that might be rocky at times, but is leading toward a stronger future.
There is a blurred picture of the Afghan reality. But President Obama's people must have the strength to help him formulate sound policies, and be aware that they have the responsibility to think of possibilities beyond war.
In his second dispatch, "The Vote Comes to Afghanistan's Peaceful Heartland" for Foreign Policy, September 20, Schuster Institute Senior Fellow E. Ben...
Afghans courageous enough to go out and vote on September 18 certainly have my respect, but for U.S. officials and policymakers, there are multiple delegitimizing issues that should be cause for concern.
Afghans respect power, and Karzai has been shown over and over to have none.
If we are to avoid the kind of victory that is a disservice to those who fought for it, we must rein in the excesses of Afghanistan's increasingly undemocratic President.
Likewise, in foreign policy. Let's say there are two diagnoses for Afghanistan -- one means it has a chance if we do things right. The other means that there's no hope whatever we do.
If yet another election fails the Afghan people, prospects for establishing a credible, stable government will be severely damaged -- perhaps beyond repair.
By escalating the war to support a corrupt government in a land that has expelled every other invading power, Obama has made sure that its inevitable failure will be that much more spectacular.
We don't have a viable partner in Afghanistan and we don't have the legitimacy that is essential to rebuilding the country. The Afghans don't view us as their saviors. They view us as the latest intruder in their valley.
The cost of war in in dollars alone requires a choice not only to stop sending troops but also to withdraw all U.S. military forces and invest in civilian-led development of Afghanistan's devastated communities.
Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, kept squabbling and trading charges of fraud until the election pre-rigged by Washington fell apart. The real ruler of most of Afghanistan remains the US military and Obama.
Here, in Afghanistan, the election has been in crisis since it took place. And though so many are ready for it to finally be over, no one could move on until Abdullah made his withdrawal official.
Talks between Hamid Karzai and Abdullah broke down today, October 30, according to CNN, meaning there will be no power-sharing arrangement to head off a highly problematic runoff vote.
As Washington plots its course for Afghanistan, it would do well to test alternatives against America's 20th-century chronicle of victories, defeats, stalemates and what-ifs.
