He's going to team up with OJ.

Democracy is more than a system of government. It's a system of values. And if a culture doesn't have those values all the guns and bombs in the world can't enforce a democracy.

How fickle!

Wonder what they have on the other guy to have made him back out of the recount.

Newly reappointed governor Hamid Karzai vows to uphold the Empire's goals in Afghanistan.

best headline i've seen in a while.

The Icelander: Democracy is more than a system of government. It's a system of values. And if a culture doesn't have those values all the guns and bombs in the world can't enforce a democracy.

Yeah good luck with all that.

I tried explaining that democracy is more of a cultural concept than a set form of governing when GDubz was starting his "Spread the Freedom" tour of the Middle East.

All you're going to get is some bumper sticker slogans and Toby Keith lyrics in response.

Slowly becoming more and more disappointed in Obama...

We should not be supporting this guy.

Obama congratulated Karzai but said the man who has ruled Afghanistan since 2001 needed to "write a new chapter."

Obama would be wise to be cautious with this Afghan. I've heard this breed will turn on you.

I LOLed at the headline.

I hear the Obama Administration says they need a partner they can trust in Afghanistan. Good luck on finding one.

The Icelander: Democracy is more than a system of government. It's a system of values. And if a culture doesn't have those values all the guns and bombs in the world can't enforce a democracy.

Don't be ridiculous. History has proven that if we bomb and shoot enough natives they will finally accept the White Man's Burden.

Diogenes: Obama congratulated Karzai but said the man who has ruled Afghanistan since 2001 needed to "write a new chapter."

Obama would be wise to be cautious with this Afghan. I've heard this breed will turn on you.

So Karzai needs lots of brushing and is highly susceptible to allergies?

The Icelander: Democracy is more than a system of government. It's a system of values. And if a culture doesn't have those values all the guns and bombs in the world can't enforce a democracy.

That doesn't speak well for the New Jersey Governors Race.

If Karzai's government is going to remain corrupt and ineffectual, we should all leave.

I can't think of a more stupid, useless policy than propping up an unpopualr regime there.

vernonFL: If Karzai's government is going to remain corrupt and ineffectual, we should all leave.

I can't think of a more stupid, useless policy than propping up an unpopualr regime there.

FTFAccuracy

The argument that certain cultures are incompatible with democracy is absurd, and it's been repeatedly proven false. 30 years ago it was Spain and Portugal which were too conservatively Catholic for democracy. 50 years ago it was South Korea, which was too Confucian for democracy. 60 years ago it was India, which was too poor and too diverse. 90 years ago it was Turkey, which was too Muslim.

It requires a certain mindset from the people, mainly a desire for input in their own government, but it works across cultures.

vernonFL: If Karzai's government is going to remain corrupt and ineffectual, we should all leave.

I can't think of a more stupid, useless policy than propping up an unpopualr regime there.

The whole war is just a ploy so we can move into Pakistan quickly to secure the nuclear arsenal if Pakistan's government fails.

A Dark Evil Omen: Diogenes: Obama congratulated Karzai but said the man who has ruled Afghanistan since 2001 needed to "write a new chapter."

Obama would be wise to be cautious with this Afghan. I've heard this breed will turn on you.

So Karzai needs lots of brushing and is highly susceptible to allergies?

And chew toys. They're very high strung and will cause mischief if they get bored.

illegal.tender: Slowly becoming more and more disappointed in Obama...

We should not be supporting this guy.

Got another idea?

NobleHam: The argument that certain cultures are incompatible with democracy is absurd, and it's been repeatedly proven false. 30 years ago it was Spain and Portugal which were too conservatively Catholic for democracy. 50 years ago it was South Korea, which was too Confucian for democracy. 60 years ago it was India, which was too poor and too diverse. 90 years ago it was Turkey, which was too Muslim.

It requires a certain mindset from the people, mainly a desire for input in their own government, but it works across cultures.

I wouldn't say that any culture is inherently incompatible with democracy, just that it's a concept they need to arrive at on their own.

NobleHam: It requires a certain mindset from the people, mainly a desire for input in their own government, but it works across cultures.

From what I understand, Afghanistan NEVER really had a central government - at least, one which could effectively govern the far-flung tribal regions (those same places we're having trouble capturing/keeping) from Kabul.

You want to talk about independent, bootstrappy manly rugged individualists, Afghanis in those tribal regions have Mountain West Americans beat by a longshot.

// seriously - when was the last time a band of Mountaineers beat back a Taliban-type attacking force?

The Icelander: Democracy is more than a system of government. It's a system of values. And if a culture doesn't have those values all the guns and bombs in the world can't enforce a democracy.

Yeah, they should learn from America!

wet_dream: The Icelander: Democracy is more than a system of government. It's a system of values. And if a culture doesn't have those values all the guns and bombs in the world can't enforce a democracy.

That doesn't speak well for the New Jersey Governors Race.

Obvious photoshop is obvious.

Seriously, this is not a troll, but does this strike anyone of history repeating itself. In Vietnam we had an enemy that had safe haven in a neighboring country and we were backing an ineffectual and corrupt government. Now in Afghanistan we are facing the same thing. I seriously think that we should pull out and save the lives that we can.

I think the "Amusing" tag would be more appropriate in this case.

?

Sure, he will...

wet_dream: The Icelander: Democracy is more than a system of government. It's a system of values. And if a culture doesn't have those values all the guns and bombs in the world can't enforce a democracy.

That doesn't speak well for the New Jersey Governors Race.

On the good side the dead still get to vote in NJ. Both parties make sure of that. Harvey Pennymaker III has been voting the Whig party since 1834 and he'll always vote that way.

/born a Whig...die a Whig.

How can rampant corruption in third world country's government created by any outside agency be a surprise to anyone?

Perhaps it's an IQ test. If you are surprised, you are too stupid to breed and should be expunged. If you act surprised, you are either a lawyer or an elected official and should also be expunged.

redmond24: Wonder what they have on the other guy to have made him back out of the recount.

Probably a sniper scope.

RumsfeldsReplacement: redmond24: Wonder what they have on the other guy to have made him back out of the recount.

Probably a sniper scope.

That's the kind of democracy we need to import.

Karzai should start with SEIU and ACORN.

Shouldn't this have the asinine tag?

The Icelander: And if a culture doesn't have those values all the guns and bombs in the world can't enforce a democracy.

NO NO NO! All cultures are equal, and any of them can have a democracy! It might be a democracy where women aren't allowed to vote, or a democracy where you are shipped off to the gulag if you dissent in any way, or a democracy where only the Glorious Supreme President For Life is allowed to vote, but you aren't allowed to say it's not a democracy because that will cause prejudice against their culture!

NobleHam: The argument that certain cultures are incompatible with democracy is absurd, and it's been repeatedly proven false. 30 years ago it was Spain and Portugal which were too conservatively Catholic for democracy. 50 years ago it was South Korea, which was too Confucian for democracy. 60 years ago it was India, which was too poor and too diverse. 90 years ago it was Turkey, which was too Muslim.

It requires a certain mindset from the people, mainly a desire for input in their own government, but it works across cultures.

Funny you bring up South Korea. I just got back from there. Yeah, it has democracy, but not in ideal form that we would immediately recognize. There's a degree of expected, institutionalized corruption in South Korea that you don't even see in cities like Chicago or Detroit, and the whole frelling country is like that. It's not unusual to see an illegal brothel operating right next door to a police station. In Chicago, they at least stage a raid once in a while before releasing everyone so they can appear "tough on crime," but in Korea they just dispense with such formalities. Their last president was so hilariously corrupt he made himself an hero as soon as he left office by going cliff diving without the water.

AND it took multiple revolutions to get even to this point, including at least one internal military coup to oust the corrupt, US-backed regime while we still had a base in their capital city. Back then, we were smart enough to sit on our hands let things sort themselves out. How would we handle that today if there was a coup in Afghanistan or Iraq? Probably not so well.

translation: "I'm going to root out all the assholes who supported my opponent"

is he a member of the Whig party, or the Tory party?

whats corruption?

How's Obama's war going there?

RumsfeldsReplacement: redmond24: Wonder what they have on the other guy to have made him back out of the recount.

Probably a sniper scope.

Yeah, that's really more of a Western thing, the whole "We've got dirt on you, so do as we say." In Central Asia, it's more "Do as we say or you'll have six feet of dirt on you."

honest+politics/0=

I didn't know ACORN had a Afghan branch.

I didn't know ACORN Diebold had a Afghan branch.


FTFY

Hey, at least he knows exactly where to look.