Afghanistan Election
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- Invalid
I'm hoping Ashraf Ghani wins the election. You may have seen him speak at TED.
I read his book on "Fixing Failed States" and I think he has got the method to rebuild the country.
The greatest hurdle will be the mass corruption in the government.
- Amby0
'hope' is good.
- Morning_star0
Reality bites.
- GeorgesII0
Can you all stop and think for a minute,
that maybe Afghans are sick and tired of politicians groomed outside of their territory that come back after 30 years and pretend to care about them.So now talking at TED and writing a book automatically grants you the right to become president.
FFs the guy worked at the world bank, you don't think he could have solved the problems afflicting Afghans a thousand time over.
At least Karzai, did his best to do nothing except sell out his country.what do you believe Ghani is going to do?
- Morning_star0
Not quite as simple as that.
Afghanistan is a fiercely tribal country which is ill-equiped to deal with a centralised democratic style of government. It will take years, maybe decades to affect the change necessary to make a central government anything but an impotent organisation that is used primarily as an example of ' democratic success' by the West.
The power lies with the tribal leaders and war lords and always will. The best that we can do is incentivise the rejection of the Taliban.
- Invalid0
@GeorgesII
I'm not saying speaking at TED and writing a book is enough cred to become president. It was more a "you may know him from" comment.
The unfortunate reality in Afghanistan is that any of the current politicians in Afghanistan are grossly corrupt and incapable of working towards rebuilding the country.
Being Afghan, and having traveled there on numerous occasions to work with charity organisations and meet with several government officials, I've seen the corruption first hand. Not to mention the intense values placed on race and religion within Afghanistan which has been the cause of in-fighting for many years.
Having said that, I've come to the grim realisation that the only hope the people of Afghanistan have is being lead by an externally educated Afghan. Now, Hamid Karzai was also an American educated Afghan and I don't think his failures have necessarily been his fault, but more so the height of corruption in his administration and the lack of willing of people in his administration to cooperate with foreign allies.
Apart from the corruption there is also the problem of half the country being controlled by ex-mujahidin warlords who demand to maintain control and also back the Taliban. These people are a cancer who continue to spread their rhetoric and instill fear in the people.
In a broader overview, the Afghan people all want peace. The problem is they believe it should be done their way! Now judging by the experiences Afghans have had in the past, the only way to get your way is by fighting for it. This is a mentality Afghans have adopted after many years of conflict, and I'm talking pre Soviet invasion. Think more Alexander the Great! This sense of "fighting to drive out the foreigner" fills the Afghan people with pride.
Pride itself is an interesting concept. In Afghanistan it's considered a great insult if you correct someone. Even if they are wrong, you should never correct them in front of others. Believe me when I say, this is a national mentality, and point of concern because this tells us that people are so proud, they refuse to accept their mistakes. What does that tell you about someone? What does that tell you a bout a nation? Somebody who will not accept their mistakes is destined to make them again and again!
With that EXTREMELY brief and summarised view, maybe Ghani is not the answer, but his literature, knowledge and previous experience in Afghanistan including participating in the rebuilding of Afghanistan from the beginning of the American infiltration, makes him the best current prospect.
- Shaney0
video wall of what ordinary Afghan's would do if they were president:
- utopian0
LOL
