French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner arrives in Afghanistan in 2008.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner visited Afghanistan this week in a move that a French diplomatic report (published at France Diplomatie) said was intended to convey a message of unity and trust. With political tensions in the nation running high due to the imminent announcement of presidential election results, Kouchner met with both the incumbent President Karzai, who has been accused extensively of corruption during the ongoing United Nations investigation into electoral misconduct. He also met with Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the primary opposition candidate who is widely regarded as being the most likely to successfully challenge Karzai’s established position as Afghan head of state.Kouchner’s staded intent was to inspire unity through his diplomatic efforts, convincing Afghans to work together with Afghans in ‘security and reconstruction.’
A French 'Panhard' Armoured Car on patrol in Afghanistan.
An interview with the French Foreign Minister conducted for ‘Le Figaro’ newspaper was conducted shortly after his visit. He indicated in response to questioning that France had no intent to increase its troop presence in Afghanistan from the 4,000 military personnel it had in theatre, nor did it intend to increase the amount of aid destined for the Afghan National Army. Kouchner (founder of the international humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres) did state that France was exploring a renewed commitment to development, infrastructure and civilian aid.He also concluded that ‘the whole world recognizes that French diplomacy has regained its full position.’French defeats in Indochina, counterinsurgency conflict fought in Algeria and minor political debacles around the world have eroded global confidence in France’s diplomatic corps since the period of the Cold War, however the Foreign Minister’s comments indicate that he at least, feels his nation is on the right track once more.
I have selected 'The Great Game' as the title of this web-log in homage to the historical roots of the Afghan conflict. Perpetually one of the great crossroads of imperial conquest and expansion, the Afghan region has found itself beholden to a multitude of successive regimes, both internal and external.
This has left the various ethnic and cultural groups which comprise 'The Afghan People' in perpetual flux. They have been left to lead what life they can manage amid the chaos of uprisings, transitions and titanic clashes between these mightier states.
This Log is being undertaken as a University Assignment for the purposes of developing my understanding of International Relations. The end result will be the chronicling of major events pertaining to the nation of Afghanistan and its peoples from roughly the 11th of September, 2009 through to early January 2010. I will be culling my sources from a variety of reputable and scholarly international news and governmental sources.
The interrelated issue of International Terrorism will undoubtedly get much attention here. Peace Support Operations and Operations Other Than War currently underway in the nation of Afghanistan are in response to the widespread use by International Terror groups of that same country for their own spiritual and ideological center. As the control and stability of the Afghan nation represents somewhat the 'center of gravity' for the enemies of the west, it is very difficult to discuss events that occur within its borders and not make reference to those pertinent ones which occur without.
A media coup for a detainee in Guantanamo for instance, can have untold effects on the capability of or mandate for the NATO ISAF mission in the region. Simple systems can be seen to generate complex results and complex systems can be seen to generate simple results. It is my intent to encapsulate in this log the full spectrum of forthcoming issues regarding Afghanistan both as the shattered nation it is, and the strong, thoroughly stabilized democracy that it can be.
The culmination of this Log will be the publication of an Essay (also on the same topics, also for the same course). It will cover almost 65 years of Afghan History, establishing the linkage between the nation's fragmented present and its past. Additionally, the Essay will explain exactly how it is that 'International Terrorism' as we now know it, came to be, and how it was that the enemies of the West came to call the nation of Afghanistan their home.
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