Post-Vote Uncertainty Adds to US Problems in Afghanistan

The months of political uncertainty that are almost certain to result from the massive voter fraud in last month’s Afghan election could linger into next spring, some Obama officials warn. This would be another disastrous complication for an already disastrous war.

The Brookings Institute’s Bruce Riedel, one of the architects of the Obama Administration’s escalation, is quoted extensively in cautioning that the strategy “requires an Afghan government that is credible and legitimate,” adding “the strategy can’t work around a South Vietnamese-style government.”

And while the administration has insisted that they don’t want to seek reconciliation with the Taliban anyhow so long as the war continues to flounder, the option seems to be virtually unavailable without an Afghan government to take part in it.

Likewise, the “civilian surge” business of nation-building, unsuccessful as it has been, is certain to face considerable new obstacles so long as the Afghan political establishment, such as it is, remains divided over a fraudulent vote.