Cross Your Fingers For Afghanistan Tomorrow

Afghans Hit the Polls On Thursday .......

In about seven hours, Afghanistan will go through it's most important day since ousting the Taliban nearly eight years ago: Free and open elections. Actually, I'm a bit surprised by the lack of coverage about it, but people yelling and screaming at Health Care forums is all the rage this week...With the Taliban on the rebound, and promising to cut off the finger of every person who votes, the are huge concerns that citizens will stay home, and either the election will be a joke, or that other candidates will win.

Now, I am no military expert by any means, but Afghanistan worries the crap out of me. The Russians had 130,000 troops there for over a decade, and they couldn't win, thanks in part to our help. Sure, our tactics have improved since Russia was there, but there are huge obstacles - rough terrain, little Pakistani assistance, and an enemy that is not in the open, camoflagued by the other citizens. They've done their best to make the polls a safe place, but there are thousands of polls, and some people have to walk almost 12 miles to vote. It's safe to say that we cannot guarantee that the elections will be 100% safe - but we can't guarantee that in the US either.....

On the other hand, the Taliban can't be everywhere either. My guess is that there will be some cases of violence and deaths, but hopefully it will be minimal, and maybe I'll be wrong... We've done all we can at this point for the elections. But, tomorrow and ultimately in the future, the fate of Afghanistan is their own hands. The history hasn't left me with much faith in their future, but you never know....