“The unstated U.S. strategy was to leave Karzai ineffectual
in the capital, protected by foreign forces, while relying on the warlords to
keep Pax Americana in the countryside and the U.S. SOF forces to hunt down al
Qaeda. It was a minimalist, military intelligence-driven strategy that ignored
nation building, creating state institutions, or rebuilding the country’s
shattered infrastructure. By following such a strategy, the United States left
everything in place from the Taliban era except for the fact of regime change.”
Ahmed Rashid, “Descent Into Chaos: The United States and the
Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia,” 2008
Protecting Kabul, 2006-2007.
Top: Americans
Middle: British (Gurkhas, actually)
Bottom: Germans
(Photos: Jim Chiavelli, who ate a lot of dust)
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