ARTICLE: U.S. Weighs Working With Local Powers In Afghanistan, But It Can Be Risky Business, By Zarif Nazar, Charles Recknagel, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, November 02, 2009
Yes, partnering with in-country locals will be hard, but it's the only route forward that I see. Afghanistan is now more of a fake state than it's ever been (one has to notice the pattern that, wherever we intervene inside the Gap, we tend to birth states within states--in effect, deconstructing colonial constructs).
The key will be, however, to find regional sponsors--province by province--besides ourselves. We can't provincialize without regionalizing. And the truth is, it will happen anyway, whether we work for it or not--just like in Iraq (which still seems to have a lot of fake-state internal fighting left over).
A simple rule: when you intervene in a fake state inside the Gap, expect more than one offspring.
(Thanks: Louis Heberlein)
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