Meet the New Boss...

A recent New York Times article describes the tenuous reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan since our toppling of the Taliban government five years ago ("Order in the Courts," 8/28/06). Writer J. Alexander Thier says "It's been a bad year" for that country. That is of course from our perspective, vs. say that of a poppy grower's.

But the article tries to stay upbeat, Banging the drum of reforms and checks and balances, and even suggests that the present moment in Afghanistan is like that which motivated our Founding Fathers to develop our democracy.
But the analogy does not hold, as the movement in Afghanistan is toward constriction of freedoms. Witness Their's comment, "The Supreme Court must be able to fulfill its central role in deciding questions concerning Islam...(t)he court (must) determine whether laws are in accordance with the 'beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam.'" He goes on to say "the Islamic legitimacy of the government and the courts must be strong", lest the Taliban accuse the government of being "the corrupt puppet of infidels".

So that's it...we're over there dying so that we can sneak in some semblance of a court system--albeit a theological vs. a secular one--and we'll call it a success? True democracy would be ridden out on a rail under the guise of being of being a "corrupt puppet (government) of infidels". Great. Mission accomplished.

Actually, my reaction is that the Taliban had the very same court with the very same function. Further, the "morality police", the Department of Vice and Virtue--a centerpiece of the former Taliban regime--is to be reactivated in Afghanistan (www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HH10Df01.html.) And you thought the Scarlett Letter was an outmoded response. And this is happening under the watch of a "moderate" government, so this is as good as it gets. We've accomplished nothing beyond loss of our national treasure, treasures lost both on the domestic front, and in the the international arena in terms of lost goodwill and reputation.

This is the untenable absurdity of the situation. Hundreds of Americans have died in Afghanistan, thousands have been wounded and untold billions spent to remove the Taliban. And what did this outlay buy the American taxpayer? A court based upon obeying the sacred tenets of Islam is not what the U.S. Founding Father's had in mind when institutionalizing the concept of the separation of powers. Do American taxpayers really want to support a legal system that cuts off the hands of thieves and stones adulterers?

The entire Afghan adventure is in violation of the spirit of America, unless we now condone religious censorship of civilian government. This sounds like Iran, redux. If Islamic extremism is the threat, then why is our national policy creating Islamic theocracies that will encourage and obey this fanaticism? I wish Condi would explain that one clearly to the U.S. taxpayers. I for one really wanna know.