Afganistan Update: Dying in Slow Motion

So Britain and the US are to send more troops to Afghanistan. I can't see anything but pouring more resources into a failed war. It was a failed war when the unholy alliance of Bu$h/Bliar squandered the international sympathy they had in the aftermath of September 11th and went off, gung-ho, to bomb one of the poorest countries in the world back into the stone-age.

Why will it fail?

First off NATO forces as killing lots of civilians. I know it does not get as much coverage here, what with the X-Factor going on and all, but to the locals, it is murder. To be fair to the NATO forces, since Obama took over they have been at least sounding like they want to change this dynamic, but I suspect the damage has already been done and still is being done.

Second is because the government that is being propped up is a corrupt and useless rump. Recently we were told that the government in Kabul would fall 'in weeks' without NATO forces. I think the comments were said to stiffen resolve here in the UK - but all I could think of was the waste - all those lives lost and over $10 billion spent training/equiping the Afgan police and army - all all it has achieved is 'weeks' of stability. That and a flawed election. That is shit by any measure.

But wait, it gets worse. The politicians in Afghanistan don't seem to give a shit...

Nader Khan Katawazai, an MP from Paktika, complained that only 30 of the 238 MPs attended Monday's session [to confirm the new cainet]. This is the government we are being asked to prop up with blood and treasure? Only 30 legislators bothered to come in to work?

Or be up for spending the money...

The Afghanistan government presides over the fifth poorest country in the world. It has millions of dollars in aid to spend for the betterment of its constituents. But it actually managed to spend less on these tasks this year than in previous years, despite having more money.

The whole mission seems to be dying in slow motion.