Afghan Elections
The elections in Afghanistan have apparently gone off with fewer problems than expected, which is outstanding. (And hey, the ink I mentioned to Sama makes an appearance!)
I am slightly worried by a line in The New York Times article, ” International organizations, which spent $200 million to finance the election, indicated that they had little patience for would-be spoilers challenging the vote’s validity” but that seems to perhaps be a reporter’s opinion.
It is, at the end of the day, a very exciting day for Afghanistan if they can have elections, and have the resulting candidate be considered by their people to be the legitimate leader of the country. Strong-arming by outsiders doesn’t add to that, although it may give the process time to sink in. The courage of Afghans who registered to vote, and went to the polls despite threats of violence, what gives it legitimacy. And as Winston Churchill pointed out, democracy is the worst form of government we have, save all those others tried from time to time.