In absolutely no surprise at all, Hamid Karzai's sole remaining opponent Abdullah Abdullah called the election in Afghanistan what it was -- a farce -- and dropped out giving Karzai an undeserved third term in office.
Yeah, that's what the West is fighting for. To prop up the Man from Unocal.
That's all it ever was about ... building a gas pipeline through the landlocked country so an absolute dictator from one of the ex-Soviet Stans could get their gas to market. Not about women, not about doing in the terrorists. And of course, the opium trade is as huge as it has ever been.
But we made a promise to stay in there until 2011. And note, in the case of Canada, the 2011 commitment applies only to Kandahar. It leaves open the possibility of combat missions elsewhere in the country, particularly where the Taliban and allies are in even greater control.
We've made the promise so I guess we have to keep it ... but really, should Canada be in the business of keeping the peace in a dictatorship? America's supporting thugs over the decades is why that country is so hated in the developing world. Do we want to be brushed with the same brush? I hope not.
Democracy can't kick in overnight unless you're dealing with a country that has had a long tradition of democracy but then had to deal with years of dictatorship -- which is why the transition in Eastern Europe twenty years ago was as relatively smooth as it was. But certainly by now, after eight years, we should have seen at least the semblance of a freely elected government and a free press. Afghanistan has neither and likely will not for quite some time to come.
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