Good news in Afghanistan

[vulturesrow]

Read this article (http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110005642) for some of the good things going on in Afghanistan right now.

[sam h]

Don't believe the hype. The current "democratic" presidential election is for the mayorship of Kabul, nothing more and nothing less.

It's nice to talk about this program or that program, but clearly the people writing that article don't have any idea about the extent of the problems involved when there is no state in a given geographic region.

There is no precedent in the history of the world for taking a place like that, setting out to build an effective state apparatus in a short period of time, and succeeding.

I think Karzai is dead within two years if he wins.

[anatta]

I thought maybe we had captured what's his name. Oh well, I guess the "shoes for kids" program will bring a smile to the families of 9-11.

[vulturesrow]

Two responses full of pointed and insightful information.

Sam: I am well aware of the geopolitical issues in Afghanistan and I am sure the writer of that article is too. It does nothing to diminish the many positive accomplishments we have achieved.

Annatta: There is a good chance that UBL is dead already. Also, in case you hadnt noticed, we have systematically taken apart the leadership of al-Qaeda. We also destroyed the regime that gave tacit approval for its country to be a sanctuary for terrorists and their training camps. But I guess that doesnt matter either.

[anatta]

I doubt that Bin Laden is dead, this sounds like wishful thinking to me. So is Colin Powell going to go to the UN and say we have found Bin Laden in an alumium tube or an ariel nuclear armed drone?

There seems to be a difference of opinion between us regarding the way these terrorist organization operate and regenerate. Richard Clarke pointed this out when he said that once the President asked him for a list of names of the top terrorists. He got the impression that the President would be "sitting by the fireplace" crossing names out, "got this one, got that one, need to get him."

Clarke said, and I tend to agree, that terrorists are more like cockroaches. If you create hot-beds of terrorism, like in Iraq, that allow these cock roaches to grow and mulitply, they will, as surely as leaving dirty dishes in the sink for a month will give you cockroach babies. Clarke has said that by failing to get Bin Laden, Al Quida has morphed into a multi-headed hydra. I am not sure what this means, but it sounds pretty bad.

Terrorist acts increased since 9-11. Bush admin tried to say that the report showed that they had fallen. It was up to Powell to come clean and say no we misread the report, that word "decreased" should actually have been, well, "increased to unprecendented levels".

[sam h]

[ QUOTE ]
I am well aware of the geopolitical issues in Afghanistan and I am sure the writer of that article is too. It does nothing to diminish the many positive accomplishments we have achieved.

[/ QUOTE ]

Positive accomplishments are worth pointing out on their own, but they ultimately also must be weighed against failures. And overall, the "reconstruction" of Afghanistan has been a massive failure, one that is a direct result of the administration having no clue what the enterprise of nation-building and the importation of democracy really entail. We've tried to do it on the cheap and we've produced the predictable result. That's the big story.