The bombers of the Twin Towers and other hijackers on the fateful day of 9/11 hailed from Saudi Arabia. George Bush decided to attack Afghanistan instead. A 'regime change' was effected after the country was pulverized yet again and an ally of the Texan oil lobby was installed as head of state. President Karzai spoke impeccable English while his subjects were mostly tribals from different sectarian politics that mired the country, not well versed in the language or polish the head of state espoused. The disconnect could not have been more stark. After six years of installed democracy, the sponsor super power confesses that Afghanistan is at the tipping point of failure. Interestingly democracy is about people but its implementation is almost never people centric. Democracy is about building solid Institutions and this is where the Republican administration in Washington D.C. got it very wrong. They made the same mistake in Pakistan where they placed complete faith on President Musharraf. Dealing with people and mistaking that as democracy is an easy trap to fall into and it is not unusual that the US has placed faith on more westernized leaders. Involvement with Institutions need a much deeper understanding of the fabric of the nation, its culture and most importantly, its past. American impatience has put two important nations in Asia on the brink.
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