Afghan War: Progress in Nation-Building

Continuing with the nostalgia, this article from just over a year ago on Afghanistan is a sober reminder of where we may be in a year, both there and with Iraq: Afghanistan adrift politically, economically USA Today 11/14/02.

Other Afghans also say life here is different -— and far more dangerous - than they expected a year ago:

* The U.S.-backed government of Hamid Karzai has little control outside of Kabul, the capital. And the new government is racked with dissension.

* Warlords continue to control much of the countryside. Already, several factional power struggles have broken out.

* Extremists, in hiding outside the well-protected capital, wait for an opportunity to strike. Taliban and al-Qaeda forces lurk in the mountains. U.S. troops on patrol in search of terrorists in eastern Afghanistan face almost daily hostility and attacks.

Unfortunately, the news reports indicate that the situation isn't a lot different today. The NATO forces have extended their range somewhat beyond Kabul. But the US has more troops in Afghanistan than ever, warlords still largely control the provinces, and the Taliban is growing more and more powerful.

This piece is a also a reminder of the stakes in Afghanistan, which in practice has for the last decade represented a more direct threat to the US than Iraq did:

The United States had the chance to bring stability, economic rejuvenation and democracy to Afghanistan in 1989, when the U.S.-backed Afghan guerrillas drove out the occupying Soviet forces. But once the Soviets were gone, Washington lost interest. ...

Today, graduates of Afghan terrorist camps are spread out across the globe. They are credited with recent attacks and threats in Indonesia, the Philippines, northern Africa, Europe and the USA. Many others are across the Afghan border in Pakistan, waiting to see whether the United States leaves or wears out its welcome here.

Tags: afghanistan war, global war on terror, gwot, war on terror