As Afghanistan gets set to elect a new president, many in America hope that Hamid Karzai’s successor can improve relations between the two countries.
For many here in the United States, Afghanistan is a land far away, where more than two thousand U.S. soldiers died trying to free the country from the Taliban and other terrorist elements. But the cost goes well beyond American lives. A report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the U.S. has spent more than 600 (b) billion dollars in aid and defense to the Afghans since 2001.
No matter who wins the presidential election, the question for most Americans will be, did all that money, and all those lives lost - set up the next Afghan leader for success. Will voters be allowed to go to the polls without fear? Will they succumb to Taliban threats?
The change of power could also improve the US-Afghanistan relationship. President Hamid Karzai has had a rocky relationship with U.S. leaders. He has refused to sign a bilateral security agreement or BSA to keep a remnant of US and NATO forces behind in Afghanistan to continue the training of Afghan security forces and conduct a counter terrorism mission. In contrast, both of the frontrunner candidates have promised to sign that agreement, after this weekend’s elections.
Also shaping US opinion, will the new Afghan president be legitimately elected, I can recall being in Afghanistan for the last round of presidential elections in 2009, and there were a lot of questions about fraudulent ballot stuffing and polling locations that were supposed to be closed still producing votes. American citizens and their government will want to know that the US blood and treasure spent there has helped average Afghans.
