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December 02, 2009

Back to Mullen for a Moment
Posted by Patrick Barry

In his opening remarks, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Michael Mullen said something I want to return to for a moment.  He once again reiterated that addressing the issue of governance is fundamental to a successful mission in Afghanistan.

Progressives have been emphasizing governance for months, and it's clear that Mullen understands its importance.  But what if the governance piece can't be addressed? If 6 months from now, the Karzai government is just as kleptocratic as it is today, if efforts to strengthen linkages between Kabul and provincial and district level power sources doesn't pan out, the by Mullen's logic, the mission will have been compromised, probably irrevocably. What happens next will say a lot about the administration's willingness to hold itself accountable.

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Comments

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Very useful article.Afghanistan suffers from two basic conditions – interrelated in many ways – which hamper the development of human rights; an ongoing conflict in significant parts of the country and widespread poverty. Both hold the development of human rights back. But both also make a broadly based fight for human rights all the more critical.

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