What are we doing in Afghanistan? I realize that eliminating the Taliban and freeing the Afghanis from their control is a very noble and humanitarian ideal, but we are doing it all wrong. Why did we send American men and women into a war to replace one corrupt, tyrannical government with another? If we ever want to get out of Afghanistan, we need to establish a legitimate government that is concerned with the needs of the people, not just send more troops.
Let’s start with the recent presidential election. There have been many reports of widespread fraud in this election, with allegations that up to 1/3 of all ballots were fraudulent. There have also been reports of ballot box stuffing, armed coercion, shutting down polling places, bribery, and vote buying. It is no wonder the Taliban has seen resurgence as of late. They are no longer simply opposed to our lifestyle or ideologies; the U.S. has been kind enough to offer them a legitimate reason to hate us. We have replaced one corrupt government with another, and Afghanis have begun to turn to the Taliban because it has begun to seem like a nationalistic, patriotic endeavor to drive out the corrupt government along with the foreigners (that’s us) who have created it.
In order to stop the Taliban, we can’t just send more troops and more drones and more missiles, because you can’t bomb an idea. We need to offer the Afghan people an alternative. We need to do whatever we can to show that we do not approve of Karzai’s corruption and greed, and we need to do everything we can to establish a legitimate, sound government for the people by the people. Only then will Afghani’s turn from the Taliban and begin to accept the U.S. as a benevolent force.
