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Guttenberg: Afghan democracy impossible
Published: 26 Dec 09 13:40 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20091226-24187.html
Germany's beleaguered defence minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, has said the West should abandon hopes of creating a democracy in Afghanistan.
- 'We have a major lack of leadership' - Politics (23 Dec 09)
- Germany's rules of disengagement in Afghanistan - Analysis & Opinion (15 Dec 09)
"I have long since become convinced that because of its history and its cultural orientation Afghanistan is not suited to being a model democracy, measured by our standards," said Guttenberg, who has come under intense pressure over his ministry's public relations disaster following a deadly air strike in Kunduz in which up to 142 people were killed.
The minister added that in order to achieve a lasting peace in the country, including moderate Taliban in the government should not be ruled out. "In a country with so much regional diversity, we cannot exclude an entire people like the Pashtuns if we want a sustainable solution in the future," he said.
Guttenberg admitted that this represents a u-turn in his position on the Taliban.
"We have to ask ourselves which of the insurgents represent a serious threat to the international community, and which are concerned with Afghan questions," Guttenberg said. "The question of human rights has to be addressed here, without ignoring the cultures that have developed in Afghanistan."
But he warned, "Negotiations and the inclusion of the Taliban should of course not be started without conditions. It would be unacceptable if universally acknowledged human rights were simply suspended."
DDP/The Local (news@thelocal.de)
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Your comments about this article:
"...Afghanistan was simply not suited to democracy"
Really? What was your first clue?! (and since we're on the subject, let me just throw this out there: neither is Germany or the US!!)
...for the love of god, people, how long is it gonna take to figure out that deposing iron-fisted dictators is not always a good thing?!!
It is relatively unimportant if Afghanistan aquires democracy or not, for in that unhappy country it can only be a sham at the very best and a joke at the very least!! What is important though is to accept that a country like Afghanistan which is completely unstable was and indeed will be again the breeding ground for Osama Bin Laden and his misguided followers. And it is this which dictates that NATO forces remain in that country as and until this evil culture is once and for ll time destroyed. Oh I am aware that some who post comments here will say that once this evil has been irradicated, that others just as bad will follow.. It is after all part of modern society that this will happen. I agree with this sentiment and fully accept that more will follow in the footsteps of these criminals. But let us unite and deal with first things first and then later as other groups emerge from under their rocks and caves we can face them one by one for this is a problem that will never go away or one that can be swept under the carpet, and indeed nor must we decide to go away!!!! This is unfortunately an ongoing battle without end...... Welcome to our world!
Even in the US today, after more than 200 years, we're still learning how to deal with the opportunities and problems true democracy presents. As Wabit observed, Afghanistan is a country that has never had a functional central government of any kind, and Karzai isn't going to be able to create one either. He may be the wrong man for the job, assuming it could be done in the first place.
The tribal culture, the fractured structure of society, the traditional feuds, and the lack of apparent need for a government make it nearly impossible. Then add in the issues within the religious communities and you have a formula that is destined to fail.
In Vietnam the US "discovered" that the local people just didn't much care about most of the issues that drove the war. They wanted to be left alone to pursue the traditional lifestyle that they knew...subsistence farming and raising a family to carry on. Their place on the world stage, or even within the Asian community just wasn't important to the masses. It appears the same sort of feelings are at work here, and they accept the central power, whatever it is, quietly, simply so they can move on.
Leave now and let them get on with it. Then make a deal with the winner.
Let us pull out but let us also ensure that no weapons are allowed to get into the country.
Let them work out their own way to go forward, these people hate being told what to do and they hate corrupt governments which they have now got.
There are enough people from Afghanistan living all over the world, send them all back to bring civilization to their own people, it's the only way !!
>Let them work out their own way to go forward, these people hate being told what to do and they hate corrupt governments which they have now got.
Russia was not the only country that failed in Afghanistan, the British failed also.
It is astounding that the so called democracies always know what is best for other people. The great democracies have been constantly at war for over two hundreed years "civilizing" the rest of the world. If we had not meddled so much in Afganistan maybe those people might at least have so sort of stable government now. Stable enough to at least bring the basics of life's necessities to that war torn land. The countrys currently civilizing Afganistan are so civilized that they plunged the world into two catotrosphic wars in just the last century killing more people than the Taliban could ever hope to. These great democratic statesman can't solve the problems in their own countries but arrogantly believe they can solve the problems in someone elses. I can say I know the answer for that country but what occupying them for the next 100 years is not the answer. And what has been done the last 150 years or so has not worked.
and the pilot helmets are a cool million dollars each
we all seem not to understand the laws which are made to undo the civilized world.
now, now... a Formula 1 steering-wheel costs about the same :-)