Hope for Afghanistan

By treating the people in Afghanistan as human beings, whatever their differences in appearance and religion, we have a better chance of improving their lives. Then their culture will change, as life will be seen as something precious to be preserved, with opportunities on the horizon worth fighting for. I see the reason for corruption in such places as part of the severe scarcity of resources- if there is only a small cake, people fight over it. Starting to meet the people's basic needs would make this a thing of the past (hopefully).

In terms of the Wall Street comparisons, I think anyone can see in this the human failings that may look different in various societies but amount to the same thing. Winning gat the cost of your opponent is a short-lived, pyrrhic victory. When you allow a group of people to think they are above any kind of law, like Afghan officials or the city bankers, it's a recipe for disaster that affects the whole society. Why not have some overseers there that have the power to fire corrupt police? Even so, the basic security issue needs to be resolved before any decent authority can operate there.

So far, the failure of our efforts can be related to our own top brass being lazy to build on the initial trust we receive. The skills to help rebuild a nation are totally different from those used in capturing it. They are also a lot less news-worthy. Until recently, I sensed a certain egotism, in this addiction to activities that garner more attention whilst necessary ones go undone. The kind of speeches we are seeing now seem to take the needs of the Afghan people more seriously and aim at healing the patient (poor, unstable living conditions), rather than just suppressing his symptoms (Taliban and their sympathisers, corrupt officials).