The Gift That Keeps Giving

Afghanistan's presidential election is showing how democracy can be, well, undemocratic and de-legitimating. Electoral competition can provide greater accountability, but this is not always the case. Karzai, to win the election, has co-opted his competitors and apparently sold out to the warlords. This effort, combined with his stances on collateral damage which have weakened support for the ISAF effort inside and outside the country, may mean that rather than gaining little progress in the governance part of the effort, we may be moving backwards. Forget the "may," Afghanistan is moving backwards on governance--which is the heart of any successful counter-insurgency effort.