Yesterday, I took a look at Afghan attitudes, and what they can tell us about how development might be reshaped. One of the key findings in the surveys I addressed was the focus on unemployment and infrastructure rather than security. Yesterday, David Axe wrote something similar:
Underpaid, poorly led policemen are the most visible perpetrators — and the major target of everyday Afghans’ frustrations. Never mind the international military occupation, frequent Taliban bombings and the growing problem of heroin addiction: Crooked cops are urban Afghans’ No. 1 complaint.
Unfortunately, all this is is a few anecdotes of some Afghans he met. While what he’s saying is undoubtedly true—corruption is a major problem—I’m unsure that’s the primary concern of even most urban Afghans given polling data which places corruption relatively low on the list of pressing concerns. Then again, that polling is heavily skewed toward rural Afghans, not urban ones—perhaps because most Afghans are still rural.
Regardless, it’s still good information, as attitudes within heavily invested-in Kabul matter a lot too—if we can’t keep a handle on that, then we’re screwed.
Similarly, recall my puzzlement and pleas for caution in slinging about accusations of Iran’s involvement with the Taliban. Now, a local police chief is claiming he has irrefutable evidence that Iranian weapons convoys are crossing the border. Unfortunately, it all remains rumor at this point—Iranian markings may be on some small munitions, yes, but those can also be trafficked or constructed entirely outside of Iranian purview.
I don’t want to give Tehran a pass—they’re plenty nasty—but so far there just isn’t any there there (an RFE/RL interview casts doubt on Iranian involvement as well). With both Karzai and the hilariously-named Deputy Foreign Minister Safari both protesting the good relations between the two countries (something not yet dealt with by those who accuse Iran), it’s not at all clear what to think. I mean hell, David Axe in October of last year was writing that fears and accusations of Iran’s meddling in southern Iraq were
Joshua Foust – author of 1801 posts on Registan.net.
Joshua Foust is a Fellow at the American Security Project and the author of Afghanistan Journal: Selections from Registan.net. His research focuses primarily on Central and South Asia. Joshua is a correspondent for The Atlantic and a columnist for PBS Need to Know. Joshua appears regularly on the BBC World News, Aljazeera, and international public radio. Joshua is also a regular contributor to Foreign Policy’s AfPak Channel, and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, Reuters, and the Christian Science Monitor. Follow him on twitter: @joshuafoust
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