Afghanistan On The Brink?

by Steve

Keep an eye on Afghanistan today. Just days after Bush claimed credit for bringing the country a better life, troops of a local military leader killed the country's Aviation Minister hours ago, which has now resulted in firefights in the western city of Herat, killing between 50-100 people.

Truth be told, the Bush Administration is shortchanging aid for Afghanistan, with only $1.2 billion being pledged in the upcoming year, and most of that is going for security. Elections are being delayed because few people feel safe enough to register to vote. President Karzai controls very little of the country, and today's killing of the Aviation Minister, who was the son of a powerful regional governor with his own private army, by another local military commander will make things even worse than they are now. Note that in a time where the Taliban have made a comeback and narcotics production is up in the country, one of those reportedly also killed today was a local narcotics enforcement official.

Sounds like a typical Bush foreign policy success story.