the_taliban_shuffle_-_kim_barker

Helmand district of Marja ended up a draw because of poor followthrough.
The planned U.S.-led oensive in Kandahar, Afghanistan’s
second-largest city, was amended and postponed until it appeared to be
more of a playdate. Civilian casualties and corruption continued to
alienate the countryside. Roadside bombs and guerrilla attacks
continued to pick o NATO troops and Afghan ocials. And even as
the military drove out the Taliban from various communities, there
were still not enough troops to make a permanent stand and no
credible Afghan government to ll the gaps. The West’s civilian eort
was even less eective than the military one. More than eight years into
this war, no single agency coordinated all the Western aid or
development, least of all the UN.
K
arzai, meanwhile, imploded. He allegedly threatened to join the
Taliban, pushed out several competent top ocials, and
consolidated power among his family members and closest allies, the
ones who never said no. A particularly loud-mouthed former UN
ocial publicly accused Karzai—now often described as “erratic” in
news reports—of being on drugs. I was convinced that wasn’t the
problem, and that certain drugs might helpfully silence Karzai’s
demons. But regardless, the gulf between Kabul and the West widened,
to the point that Karzai and his backers actually suspected the United
States of sponsoring terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. His public courting
of the Taliban—apparently he had found an address, even if most of his
entreaties were ignored—needed to be seen through his anti-Western
lens. Convinced the United States was against him, convinced the
United States was leaving, Karzai started planning for his own future.
That’s likely the major reason he wanted to make a deal with elements
of the Taliban—he saw their Pashtun base as the only way to ensure his
own survival. His suspicions spread like a contagion through the
government. Foreign consultants practically had to submit to
colostomies to get visas; restaurants that served alcohol were frequently
raided and even shut down; police at checkpoints spent more time
shaking down foreigners than they did on hinky Toyota Corollas.
As Afghanistan skidded o the rails, Pakistan was close behind. The