President Karzai was interviewed by SPIEGEL a day before the Bonn 2 Conference on December 5, 2011. Answering a question on the Afghan military's ability to shoulder the security responsibilities on its own, Karzai said: "The Afghan forces will be able to defend Afghanistan at that point, I am sure of that." SPIEGEL Interview with Hamid Karzai
This answer is a pleasant, comforting and hopeful answer. As an Afghan, it feels good to read it.
Is it believable? At its worst, I don't think so. At its best, I am not sure.
If Afghan Army's capacity could not be built in the past 10 years, can it be built in the next 3 years? Time will tell if the President's answer has any substantive foundations, but for now, if he has even 0.1% doubt in Afghan Army's capacity to defend and protect the borders of Afghanistan, President Karzai should be the first person to break this news to Afghans and to the world. Denying a bitter reality does not make it vanish, let alone that the level of doubt could be possibly much much higher.
Or is this a not so successful President's attempt at restoring some form of equilibrium by projecting confidence in the face of chaos and disequilibrium? If so, then on what basis should people have confidence in his confidence?
This answer is a pleasant, comforting and hopeful answer. As an Afghan, it feels good to read it.
Is it believable? At its worst, I don't think so. At its best, I am not sure.
If Afghan Army's capacity could not be built in the past 10 years, can it be built in the next 3 years? Time will tell if the President's answer has any substantive foundations, but for now, if he has even 0.1% doubt in Afghan Army's capacity to defend and protect the borders of Afghanistan, President Karzai should be the first person to break this news to Afghans and to the world. Denying a bitter reality does not make it vanish, let alone that the level of doubt could be possibly much much higher.
Or is this a not so successful President's attempt at restoring some form of equilibrium by projecting confidence in the face of chaos and disequilibrium? If so, then on what basis should people have confidence in his confidence?