2008 is a pivotal year in the development of the Afghan state: the situation has reached a classic decision point. The Taliban are entrenched in the South, running parallel governments in several districts and controlling the majority of secondary roads. The extent of the challenges facing the country was brought into sharp focus by the bombing of the Serena Hotel in Kabul on 14 January. Should this event prove part of a consolidated drive by militants to engage in asymmetric attacks upon high profile, ‘soft’ Western civilian targets in the capital, then the insurgency will have entered a new and dangerous phase.
The inability of domestic and international actors to counter the entrenchment of the insurgency in Afghanistan is deeply troubling, and the failure of NATO’s political masters to address the realities of the security situation in Afghanistan has taken the country and the Karzai government to a precipice.
The international community has invested significant time and money in President Karzai and his government. Unfortunately, these efforts may prove fruitless if they do not move quickly to stabilise the south and Karzai’s political support base. Assistance is clearly needed on a number of security, developmental and counter-narcotics measures required to steer the country back on course......
Afghanistan - Decision Point 2008
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