The Saber and Scroll
Three troopers of D Co ., 1 / 504 PIR , 82nd ABN DIV on patrol stop briefly on “ Bull Run ,” an observation post near Camp Wright , Asadabad , Afghanistan . ( 2002 ). Author ’ s Personal Collection .
handedly and significantly undermined the COIN effort in Afghanistan . 56
The Bush administration had little interest in a nation-building mission in the years surrounding Karzai ’ s appointment , nor had they adequately pursued him to reduce corruption in Afghanistan . Many economic , social , and political responsibilities were then handed to NATO , creating different goals or levels of commitment among the Afghan , US , and other governments . 60 These two factors , corruption and varying degrees of dedication , several authors later identified as poor practices in COIN , not only in Afghanistan but as proven in previous military mission theaters . 58
The lack of Afghan national pride has caused issues with the legitimacy of the current Afghan government in the eyes of the country ’ s people . Of the many tribes , the Pashtuns seem to be the only ones who acknowledge the Pashtun-majority government . The United States has failed to exit from Afghanistan for many reasons . The shift in motives ( removing insurgents , followed by nation-building ) created a delay in guidance for all US military members , which manufactured an arena of trial and error . At the same time , remaining Tajik , Hazara , Uzbek , Nuristani , Pashai , and Aimaq groups continue to look only to their tribal leaders for guidance . The immediate government of the post-Taliban world was either
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