Why No Afghan Checks and Balances?
Karzai weathers power struggle, but at a price - Hamid Karzai is on a roll. A majority of the 502 delegates to Afghanistan’s constitutional convention now favors the strong presidential system that Mr. Karzai is pushing. The emerging consensus is a big win for Karzai and for the United States, which installed the ethnic Pashtun clan leader in the presidential palace after the fall of the Taliban two years ago. [Christian Science Monitor]
Why is the United States, a country which so strongly values checks and balances pushing for a government in Afghanistan that lacks the same? It seems to me that we are sacrificing long-term stability and democracy for short term convenience and political maneuvering. While the Bush administration has shown itself to be politically savvy, I wonder if they are simply setting up US foreign policy for a continuation of the cycle of dictatorship and upheaval?
April 12th, 2004 at 7:41 am
Just reading up on some of this lately, was interesting.