The Success of 'Democratisation'

There is a nice article in the Observer on the current state of affairs in Afghanistan.

Once again, statistics highlight the staggering scale of the Western betrayal. In Bosnia there was one peacekeeper for every 113 people, in East Timor every 66, in Kosovo every 48. There is one Isaf soldier for every 5,380 Afghans. Without an international security presence the Afghan countryside has fallen back into the hands of the warlords and their militias, conservatively estimated at some 200,000 strong. The international presence is feebly trying to counter-balance the power of the warlords by building up the central government security framework. So far those attempts have been at worst disastrous and at best meaningless.

Interestingly, donors have pledged just $300million in reconstruction of the road network. That is the same amount that the US administration is spending on rebuilding its own Embassy in Kabul - they care more about their posh offices and security aparatus, than on opening up vital road networks to stimulate the Afghan economy. Yet no questions are asked, little publicity in the mainstream press at why the US deems its own Embassy more worthwhile than rebuilding an infrastructure it has been complicit in destroying (first through funding of the Mujahideen, and then through a massive air bombardment).

Posted by Ian at May 25, 2003 12:35 PM | TrackBack §