Integrity Score 380
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External Actors in the Afghan Problem
continues...
The dilemma of interim government in 2001 was that it had to maintain a sufficient distance from its American supporters so that Afghans do not perceive it as a puppet of the US. At the same time the American land invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had created enormous expectations of change and hope for a more sustained Western commitment to the region that it would lift it out of poverty and underdevelopment.
The Bush administration however failed to address the concerns of nation-building in Afghanistan from 2001-08 although the Afghan population continued to welcome foreign troops and aid workers with open arms. The international community had an extended window of opportunity for several years to help the Afghan people but they failed to take advantage of it. America failed to secure Afghanistan and the region after 9/11, to carry out nation-building on a scale that could have reversed the appeal of terrorism and Islamic extremism and averted state collapse. In March 2009 US President Barack Obama unveiled a new American strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to combat what he called an increasingly perilous situation.
An additional 4,000 US personnel is supposed to train and bolster the Afghan army and police, and there will also be support for civilian development. The emphasis on combating militancy is a key part of Obama’s foreign policy but with reckless civilian killings and under-emphasis on nation-building the policy is unlikely to succeed.
To be continued....