College of Political Knowledge
Since the invasions of Afghanistan and then Iraq the US has been accused of trying to nation build….and of course this has been denied by all involved…Bush/Rumsfeld/Gates/Clinton/Cheney/Obama…..yada yada….all those in Washington have denied the accusation…..we were at war to remove AQ, destroy the Taleban, find WMDs, execute Saddam and on and on…a whole litany of reason why we dropped that first bomb…..we are assured almost daily that we are not involved in nation building……but is that the truth?
Let us look at just what nation building is…….to build a nation one needs to have 5 ingredients……these are…..identity, legitimacy,penetration, participation and distribution…..without all 5 there is NO nation to build……let me simplify this for my readers……
Identity–the people must identify themselves as one people…..that will not happen in Afghanistan….they see themselves as Pashtu, Tajik, etc……
legitimacy–a government must have the respect and willingness to go with the wishes of the people…..Afghanistan has NONE of this with thye exception of Kabul and Karzai and his cronies….
penetration–the nation must have the support of all its citizens and that includes those people in the isolated areas……Afghanistan will have NONE of this for the small villages feel that they must fend for themselves against all comers…..
participation–the residents must feel that if they take part in the system that their concerns will be addressed by whoever wins the election….Afghanistan will have NONE of this….ancient suspicions will always lead the vote……
distribution–this addresses the wants list of the people…….the villagers will always want more than they get and the ritzier people will always get what is more than they possibly deserve….and then there is the distribution of laws….will all people have the same rights? In Afghanistan, we know this will NOT be true……
Now with the knowledge of what it takes to build a nation…..what are our chances of Afghanistan becoming a fully functioning nation? My opinion….slim to NONE!
If NONE is the correct answer……..now ask, just what the Hell are we doing in Afghanistan?
On a side note…..this just in from Newser website……..
The head of Afghanistan’s central bank resigned yesterday, and says he won’t return to the country for fear of reprisals thanks to his investigation of the Kabul Bank corruption scandal. Abdul Qadeer Fitrat is currently in the US, the New York Times reports. In a scathing resignation letter, he says Hamid Karzai’s administration constantly tried to block his inquiry, threatened him with legal action, and even “used law enforcement agencies against the staff of the central bank.” “Some known circles were plotting against me,” he said in an interview on Afghan TV, though he declined to name names. The head of Karzai’s high commission on corruption, Azizullah Ludin, shot back that they blamed Fitrat himself for Kabul Bank’s problems, while an official in the attorney general’s office said they had charges against Fitrat. But Western diplomats, the Times notes, view Ludin with skepticism; he presided over Afghanistan’s fraud-ridden 2009 election.
And my friends will be the major obstacle to Afghanistan becoming a fully functioning nation…..CORRUPTION!
Hmmm… good post…
Er… just wondering… um… how many of your five conditions apply to the US today and what is it’s major obstacle to progress?
Just asking 😈
Interesting question……..I think that all 5 can apply…..now we can look at it more specifically but generally speaking….all 5
Yes, I thought it was interesting – of course, corruption is not a problem in America since all the politicians are owned by the same special interests… Damn! Did I say that? Oops! Sorry! 😈
HA HA….I wished I had said that!
Yes, okay, a corrupt nation, if it can even be called a nation — but two things are less common there: (1) a belligerent and empowered Al Qaeda (never mind the Taliban); and (2) people who throw acid in young girls’ faces for being immodest. You are correct. Nation-building is tricky business, But always, first comes cleaning out the swamps.
Morning Kendrick and thanx for the visit……after all these years that swamp cannot be drained. Pres. Karzai is basically the mayor of Kabul and once the US leaves he will most likely lose that position…..I do not think Afghanistan will ever see itself as a nation.
Well, I agree with Kendrick, but would add, if only that was actually happening! So, I reluctantly agree with your take on this (for the foreseeable future at least) – sadly.
Afghanistan will be a thorn in our ass for years to come………
……by on ………..I have a new piece up at World Politics Review talking about a program I think ..What LDIs show is that in Afghanistan smaller is better. And more politics is what Afghan communities need..The conflict in Afghanistan wont be ended by resolving disagreements or grievances which are the stuff of life There will always be disagreements within and between Afghan communities and Afghans will always have grievances. Instead the conflict in Afghanistan will end when Afghans step away from violence as a way of dealing with these problems..Comments as always are welcome..