In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell admitted yesterday that that Taliban have regained control of 10% of Afghanistan. Furthermore, he claimed that the Afghan government is in control over only 30% of the country. More than six years have gone by since the overthrow of the Taliban's theocracy.
If the Bush administration hadn't been so distracted by all of the "progress" in Iraq, it might have noticed this sooner, instead of relying on those old rose colored glassess when talking about the situation there.
Of course, there is no way the Afghan government could agree with such an assessment (from the BBC article linked to above).
"This is far from the facts and we completely deny it," the Afghan Defence Ministry said in a statement.
"All Afghan people know that in the 34 provinces of Afghanistan and in more than 360 districts... the government has control," the statement said.
Ministers argue that just because tribal leaders are encouraged to ensure security in some areas, that does not mean that the government is not present there.
Sure, the government may be present in some small form in those areas, but one of the key functions of a government is keeping a monopoly on the use of force within its territory. If the Defence Ministry is relying on tribal leaders "to ensure security," the government is only nominally in control of the area in question. In reality, it is the tribes that dictate terms.
From the US end of this situation, it was not quite a month ago that Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher proclaimed before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:
No one can tell me that Afghanistan is not going in the right direction.
Right. No one execpt his country's top intelligence official that is. Maybe Boucher thinks the resurgence of the Taliban is sending things in the right direction? Oh wait, he made a comment on this very topic.
[Boucher] said the United States is "better off" in limiting control of the Taliban.
Wow. This country is in dire need of more of your penetrating, hyper-realist analysis Mr. Boucher. Will you be writing a book when you retire? I sure hope so. Now that we're here however, what is the next step? What is the US strategy to combat the growing influence of the Taliban?
"The strategy now is to win the war," he said.
Ok. Why wasn't that the strategy since the war began? Boucher went on to explain that recent increases in deadly attacks by Taliban forces are a product of all the casualties inflicted on the Taliban. You see, the Taliban is so on the run that it is "deperate" or in its "last throes"...or something.
Boucher's asinine remarks aside, the doublethink and disconnect within the Bush administration is another interesting angle on this story. Is the discrepancy part of the neverending conflict between State, Defense, and Intelligence sectors of the government? Is the Bush administration in conflict with itself, unsure of how to react to a difficult situation?
While there may be some truth to those propositions, the real story is politcal, as it always is with this administration. Describing a consistent reality isn't their goal. Creating the right news of the day is always the goal.
In late January "turning the corner," "progress," and "last throes" were rolled out in their Afghan incarnation to show that things were going great over there. No need to worry or think about withdrawing from Iraq. That is the standard line. The Iraq War is not hurting Afghanistan.
Yesterday the fear-mongering was tapped into and we got reports of the Taliban taking over and receiving increased support from al-Qaeda. The Bush administration seems to be making a coordinated effort to put a background of fear in the air while the FISA debate is ongoing in the House. Such tactics are certainly not below them.
To be sure, things in Afghanistan are not going well. However, I don't think it is out of line to suggest that this sudden release of negative news is not merely in the interest of being open and honest with Congress and the citizenry...it has more to do with reminding people of the bogeymen of 9/11 (al-Qaeda and the Taliban) while the "terrorist surveillance program" is under scrutiny.
In any case, it is clear that the Bush administration is not truly interested in improving life in Afghanistan. In the meantime, people will continue to suffer and die in order to aid the administration's corrupt agenda.