Karzai Sworn In Again

President Hamid Karzai was sworn in for his second term today. In his inauguration speech, he promised to host a loya jirga, or tribal council, to invite “dissatisfied compatriots who are not directly linked to international terrorism to return to their homeland.” Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari attended the event, as did Secretary Clinton who pressed Karzai to “tackle corruption” among other issues.

Corruption pervades all levels of Afghan government and society, with the latest example coming from an article in The Washington Post revealing a $30 million bribe by a Chinese company to Afghanistan’s minister of mining. In response to the situation,  the Economist explores different methods of fighting corruption in Afghanistan, such as the creation of an elite law-enforcement agency, as well as urging for the removal of Ahmed Wali Karzai from power.

Ahmed Wali is largely believed to play a key role in the Afghan drug trade, which has thrived after the overthrow of the Taliban. Recently, Russia has expressed its dissatisfaction with the U.S. effort to curb the opium trade. Russia is one of the largest victim’s of the Afghan’s illicit trade, with 80 Russian opium addicts dying every day.

But the main Afghan debate still centers on troop levels and the West’s commitment to the Afghan mission.  David Davis argues in The Independent  that the war has many objectives beyond fighting Al Qaeda, such as creating a stable, preferably democratic state, tackling the drug trade, and avoiding the destabilization of Pakistan. Pashtoon Atif, an Afghan aid worker from Kandahar, criticizes the West for doing too little. He argues that given Afghan is not a sovereign state but under the control of international forces, the occupying governments “have the right – and even the responsibility – to hold my government accountable.” He continues, “We Afghans wonder every day why your officials haven’t done more to coerce reform among our officials.”

Arguing for transferring more responsibility to the Afghans, Gerard Russel contends, “until Karzai’s government sees  its survival at stake, it will not play its best game. So let’s fail in Afghanistan. Fail in the right way now, and the Afghans will have a chance of succeeding.” Meanwhile, Max Fisher suggests we should place less emphasis on the central government all together, focusing instead on bolstering local leaders.

Finally,  Spencer Ackerman and Michael Cohen identify several opportunity costs of a potential troop increase. Ackerman contends that if President Obama accepts a 40,000 troop increase, the military would be stretched to near-capacity, leaving few brigades in reserve for other contingencies.  Meanwhile, Cohen predicts a surge will force USAID to shift more resources to Afghanistan instead of seeking long-term goals elsewhere. Furthermore, Congress will be less likely to increase the budget for civilian agencies in the face of larger military expenditures, exacerbating the current predominance of the military in American foreign policy.