Has there ever been a worse ally than Hamid Karzai? His contempt for the United States seems boundless. His verbal assault on everything American continuous. His latest attack on the US, for exposing that his pockets are lined with Iranian money, ludicrous.
We get that he doesn't want us in his country, and that he blames us if it rains. But couldn't he at least fake it for PR sake?
This is almost year 10 of what is rapidly approaching the lost decade for us in foreign wars. Iraq is a mess, but in comparison to Afghanistan, it looks like an overwhelming success. In the land of Karzai, we are losing lives and losing direction. We don't know whether we are there to kill with kindness or with bombs. We have tried to coddle the leadership, to bully them or to threaten. Everything has led to this point in time where we are ridiculed and maligned by the most corrupt leader of a most corrupt leadership.
We, in this country, seem to consider these front page stories back page news these days. We are more consumed with the troubles on our doorstep than those that occur in lands far away. It feels like our efforts there are merely for show now, with no real hope or belief in results.
When we begin our contemplated drawdown of troops next year, it will be the beginning of the end. What we leave behind, if in the hands of Hamid Karzai, will not be pretty.
2 comments:
Maybe nation building in a culture that enslaves half its population, values clan over country,and has little regard for the rule of law, is difficult. Ted
One would think so. We continue to learn difficult lessons about attempting to superimpose our concepts on those who resent us and our intrusions.
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