As summarized by Gerald J. Schmitz, Principal Analyst, International Affairs, at the Parliamentary Information and Research Service in Ottawa, Canada in 2009:
"The historical record plainly shows that Afghan efforts to build a modern
liberal democracy were resisted and later fatally undermined by great power and
then Cold War political 'games', not that these efforts never took place or
only did so in a intrinsically inhospitable societal environment. Of course
they were championed by urban elites . But the key point is that for decades
the principle external actors did more to hurt than to help secular democratic
aspirations in Afghanistan. No wonder they never lasted. They were never given
much of a chance."
Without a more complete and honest set of assumptions about the secular
democratic aspirations of Afghanistan's people, there is little chance that any
policy acceptable to the Afghan people can ever be achieved. If the American
leadership cannot transform its approach to meet the genuine needs of the
Afghan people, America's self-proclaimed exceptionalism from the rule of law
will bury it in the graveyard of empires.
Well, I'd feel a lot
better if I knew that our leadership had read or were planning to read your
book. In the meantime, I highly recommend it to our readers. I've expanded my understanding of Afghanistan one
hundred-fold. Thank you very much for talking
with me, Paul and Liz.
Part One of my interview with Paul and Liz
Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story
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