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December 10, 2004

Defining Miracles Down

Charles Krauthammer is upset that the recent inauguration of Hamid Karzai as President of Afghanistan isn't being more widely hailed as a miracle, given Afghanistan's recent history. Let me offer the explanation of at least one hawk.

It's terrific that Afghanistan is better off now than it was under the Taliban. The moves towards self-government and greater individual freedom are certainly things to be celebrated. But they're hardly a miracle.

There are still thousands of foreign troops in Afghanistan helping to keep the peace (or at least reduce the fighting) and keeping the current government in power. Would Karzai control anything without the might of NATO behind him? Maybe Kabul, maybe even a small area beyond Kabul, but nothing more. That suggests to me that the miracle of Afghanistan hasn't happened quite yet. No, the first real miracle won't occur until the current government has demonstrated that it can remain in power without foreign troops keeping it there. Until Karzai is more than a puppet (and if he can't hold power without foreign support, he's a puppet regardless of whether his policies are actually directed by his sponsors), I see no miracle.

Krauthammer also misses the great miracle of our own government, and of all self-government. The miracle of the American government didn't occur in 1787 when the Constitution was written, nor in 1788 when George Washington was elected our first President. Not in 1792 when Washington was reelected nor even 1796 when Washington stepped down and John Adams was elected President. No, the real miracle came in 1801, when John Adams voluntarily surrendered power to Thomas Jefferson after losing the election of 1800. Until a so-called representative government demonstrates that whoever is currently in power can be removed by the people, it isn't real. It's too early for that to occur in Afghanistan, but until it does, that's another strike against any claims of Afghan miracles. Plenty of countries have elected a leader once.

Is Karzai's election good news from Afghanistan? Absolutely. But let's not make it more than it is. There remains much work to be done.