Voting in Afghanistan
Posted in Society, War on 08/13/2009 04:10 pm by Daniel Hagan
NPR has been playing stories this week about the US Marines attempting to secure some remote regions in Afghanistan in preparation for the upcoming elections in that country. It’s tough going, but the US Marines have always looked tough situations in the face, given a hardy laugh, and gone out to kick ass. What saddens me about the situation is that we’re putting our people out there in harms way to win the battle but not the war.
What I mean by that is simple – democracy doesn’t work without rule of law. It’s as simple as that. In a population that doesn’t accept the authority of law over the authority of jihad or machismo or bushido (or any other similar term and concept), democracy is doomed to failure.
Afghanistan is culturally and geographically disposed towards a localized “village and tribe” organization. I see no value in getting voting stations setup in remote providences there. The populations in those providences aren’t going to be ruled by the capital. If anything, I think such an early focus on democracy instead of a focus on policing and rule of law makes a mockery out of what we should be trying to accomplish in Afghanistan.
That mockery is what makes me sad to hear about our Marines going out and risking life and limb – doing what they do best – for such a meager reward.