Can we change the so-called systems of Afghanistan? If so, how? I came across an article on a CNN blog where the author referenced a recent book on J. William Fulbright, which brought to light the circular thinking or at least, the difficulty of changing the way people think, even across decades.
The article started like this:
"When the president decided to send more troops to a distant country during an unpopular war, one powerful senator had enough. He warned that the U.S. military could not create stability in a country 'where there is chaos ... democracy where there is no tradition of it, and honest government where corruption is almost a way of life,' said Sen. J. William Fulbright, then chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in 1966 as the Vietnam War escalated."
Back then, it was oh so important to stem the Red Tide of communism that would surely arrive at our doorsteps (and take over our system, thus putting many politicians out of work... at least, temporarily) if we did not do something. But the article's focus is to show how many opinions favor taking the money invested in an un-winnable war and investing it in an effort to respond to domestic problems. But another old school of thought cannot be ignored: War is good for the economy. And many of Bush's "friends" (maybe in the style of Facebook) are still profiting from the US presence in Afghanistan.
It might be time for Obama to unfriend some of the leftovers from the Bush administration. Lots of "friends of friends" are hurting his attempts to change things. Washington politics is the proverbial exercise of executing a change of course for a large ocean-going vessel: You need to start a good five miles before you actually need to be aimed in a different direction. The US has a short existence compared to may countries around the globe, but so many of those other countries have been ecstatic with Obama as a US President, mostly because he does not project a holier-than-thou attitude. (Wait...in this day of child-molesting clergy, that may not be an appropriate term to use. Unless, of course, you are referring to certain past presidents. But I digress.) He is approachable and humble enough to recognize that national pride does not mean perfection. He also seems to understand something about "development" in the sense of aspiring to reach human potential. Quality versus Quantity.
Back to the original question: Can we change Afghan systems of governance? There is another piece of wisdom that might be considered here. As R. Buckminster Fuller once said, "You never change anything by fighting existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." Or in other words, the people need to want the new model, it must appeal to them on some certain grounds, in order for it to become the new system. Key to achieving the necessary level of acceptance is, as in marketing, the "consumer preferences" are in the design. And once they are, we need to find that "tipping point" that will gain the new system the popular support that will make it the new model.
