Attentive readers of Flashman will know that General Elphinstone and William Macnaghten met a dire end because they didn’t bribe the Ameers. President Karzai’s use of corruption to ensure victory has copped flak because it is seen to further destabilise Afghanistan. Fellow Presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani adds his criticism in a piece in the Times:
‘The success of the Nato-led intervention in Afghanistan hangs in the balance in the elections that begin today. Without a new government committed to restoring the State’s sovereignty and working with the international community to stabilise the country, the insurgency will spiral further out of control.
I have a strategy for restoring sovereignty that can bring peace to Afghanistan in the next three to seven years. Only one fifth of my plan involves a military effort, the rest consists of government reform and economic growth.
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