On the recordSeptember 22, 2010
The bad news in Afghanistan just continues to pile up. This week, a helicopter crash in the southern part of the country brought the number of 2010 coalition fatalities to 529. That makes this the deadliest of the 9 years we have been mired in this war. And, of course, we still have more than 2 months remaining before the calendar turns. Meanwhile, these deaths appear to be in vain. While Afghan citizens who turned out to vote this weekend must be saluted for their courage, well, the fact that courage was required to exercise a basic democratic right is rather telling in and of itself. But the parliamentary elections were marred by violence, not to mention all kinds of fraud and irregularities. Time Magazine quotes one candidate as saying, 'It was complete anarchy. Everyone was trying to manipulate this election.' Mr. Speaker, Afghanistan's financial infrastructure is crumbling almost as badly as is its democratic infrastructure. One of the nation's most prominent banks is teetering on the brink of collapse, at the same time that cronies and relatives of President Karzai appear to have used the bank to line their own pockets. And in yesterday's New York Times, there was a long story about how families are dressing their little girls as boys, just so they can get a job and an education--and even so they can preserve the family's honor to have more boys than girls.
