The Big Game

In the beginning there was Afghanistan. It is the land known as the "graveyard of civilizations," because, it is said, its soil is rich with the bodies of endless invaders who failed in their attempts to control a highly independent and proud people.

Somehow though, that pride and independence succumbed to the cunning and guile of two adversaries: America and Pakistan. I know, in the papers we read continually of the strong alliance forged by the two nations in an effort to eliminate terrorism. If you believe that pile of steaming doo, you'll believe anything. It's no secret (anymore) that both nations—Pakistan and America—entered the alliance with their own intentions and ambitions. The common theme, however, is the obviously political aspect to the designs. America, and the Bush administration, needed bin Laden in the 9/11 aftermath. It was clear that the Taliban and its cohorts were being supported by the Pakistani intelligence and Pakistan could feel the wrath of the superpower building. Since it had spent all this time and energy crafting a boisterous and highly successful jihadi movement (in fact, a de facto army to which it could plausibly deny any connection if need be) though, Pakistan wasn't willing to give up its designs on this militia or Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a key in distributing natural gas and oil in Central Asia (have you noticed how everyone wants to build a pipeline through or in Afghanistan these days?). So, for the last four years we've seen both America and Pakistan fart around looking like they're doing something, without doing a damn thing. In the end it looks like the Pakistani government was far more visionary, as they have managed to stay the course in terms of their own agenda which has, in fact, stymied the efforts of the United States. America will never see bin Laden until Pakistan allows them to. Ask Porter Goss. In this Asia Times article. The quiet withdrawal of the US and the emasculation of the Karzai government documented in it speak volumes about Pakistan's commitment to fundamentalism and the pitfalls of Bush's preemptive, deal-with-the-aftermath-later attitude. In the end, all that America will have succeeded in doing in Afghanistan is giving the Taliban time to regroup.

Political Hotlinks

As the Live 8 concerts draw closer, Africa is capturing more of the attention she needs. This excellent Utne article not only reads well, it's got some excellent links to other great articles on Africa and debt relief.

And here's an excellent article from Mother Jones that answers a question I've had for a while: why do the people who have the most to lose from Bush's policies seem to support him the most?

Finally, a brilliant article by Michael Ignatieff about America and its commitment to the proliferation of freedom. A must read!