AFGHANISTAN IS FALLING: Afghanistan Chronicle–August 10, 2021
Developing Dispatches Story to follow Afghanistan is falling to the Taliban. As we observed on July 5, 2021, after the announcement of the total U.S….
UNAMA
September 18 Afghan National Assembly Elections–Context
For updates on the elections, see Afghan2010.com Reading the newspapers and watching television news reports in the United States, one would be hard pressed to…
REPRISE (from March 26, 2010): Afghanistan U.N. SRSG de Mistura Describes U.N. Electoral Role; What Are Allied Forces Fighting For?
Originally Published March 26, 2010 In his first press conference, Staffan de Mistura, the new Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG), described what he…
Afghanistan: U.N. SRSG de Mistura Describes U.N. Electoral Role; What Are Allied Forces Fighting For?
In his first press conference, Staffan de Mistura, the new Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG), described what he and the United Nations are…
LUTTE POUR LA SURVIE de Karzaï en Afghanistan: l’ampleur réelle de la fraude électorale, les chances d’Abdullah, et la réponse de Washington
L’OBSERVATEUR INCISIF Publié le 24 octobre, 2009 Traduit de l’anglais du 16 octobre, 2009 *** Si la Commission des plaintes électorales en Afghanistan est susceptible…
Karzai’s Electoral Coup, 1000 U.S. Military Deaths and… “What Is It, Again, That We Are Fighting for in Afghanistan?”
“La guerre, c’est une chose trop grave pour la confier à des militaires.” –Georges Clemenceau “Une dictature est un pays dans lequel on n’a pas…
MUST-READ ANALYSIS: Juan Cole on “Serial Catastrophes in Afghanistan”
See Juan Cole, “Serial Catastrophes in Afghanistan threaten Obama Policy,” Informed Comment, January 4, 2010
Understanding Obama’s Dilemma: Key Articles on Taliban Advances, CIA Role, Karzai’s Brother, Magnitude of U.S. and U.N. Failures
The situation in Afghanistan is desperate. (Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post, September 14, 2009). The U.S. tilt toward Karzai during the electoral process may be related…
NEWS TO NOTE—Karzai discounts contribution of withdrawn U.N. staff
In a stunning statement made during the course of a News Hour Interview with Margaret Warner, Afghan president Hamid Karzai has suggested that the activities…
COULD U.N. TAKE CONTROL OF AFGHAN ELECTIONS TO STOP SECOND ROUND FRAUD?
U.N. SHOULD IMMEDIATELY ASSUME CONTROL OVER ELECTIONS IN AFGHANISTAN, POSTPONE SECOND ROUND IF NECESSARY (developing)
LAST EXIT ON THE ROAD TO DEFEAT IN AFGHANISTAN
Suggestions for U.N. Security Council Resolution under Chapter VII
KARZAI’S FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL IN AFGHANISTAN—THE REAL EXTENT OF THE ELECTORAL FRAUD, ABDULLAH’S CHANCES, AND WASHINGTON’S RESPONSE
Could it be that the ECC’s very limited statistical sampling of the August 20 election results–examining only polling stations representing the most egregious cases of fraud–vastly understates the real extent of the fraud, and hence the likelihood that Karzai can actually beat Abdullah in a second round?
Isn’t it time now for an emergency reorientation of our policy towards the Karzai government, with a view toward decisive action in the coming days? During the Cuban Missile Crisis, it should be noted, President John F. Kennedy was not engaged in a wide-ranging policy review, but rather using his Executive Committee to help him decide how to deal with missile-laden Soviet ships bearing down first on Cuba, and then directly on U.S. navy warships blocking their route to Cuba.
President Obama’s policy review is valuable and should continue, but he needs to focus now on the ships bearing down on us and Afghanistan in the next few days.
The Trenchant Observer
MORE TROOPS, OR BETTER DIPLOMACY? DIPLOMATIC AND POLITICAL FAILURES IN AFGHANISTAN
The situation in Afghanistan is desperate. As President Obama and his advisers debate how many additional troops to send to Afghanistan—at this time…the debate…does not address the diplomatic and political failures which have led to our current predicament….If their critical nature and root causes are not grasped and addressed, the dispatch of additional troops to Afghanistan will not reverse a deteriorating situation, just as the dispatch of additional troops in 2008 and earlier this year failed to halt the advances of the Taliban.
One overriding fact remains. Our diplomacy in Afghanistan has not been successful. It has failed. It has failed in a catastrophic way.
Following catastrophic diplomatic and political failures, we may need a new diplomatic team in Kabul, better decision-making structures and personnel at State, more vigorous Congressional oversight, and a whole rethink of whether the “aid and development” element of our strategy in Afghanistan, as currently implemented, makes any sense given our experience on the ground. Certainly we need to bear in mind that our counter-insurgency strategy in Iraq, to the extent it has been successful, has depended in critical part on free elections and the development of a legitimate government that could gain the support of the population. Finally, we should never lose sight of the fact that what we do about the election fraud in Afghanistan will have profound repercussions in Iran, and beyond.