"How the 'good war' could fail", The Economist, 22 May 2008
EXCERPT: "The NATO forces in Afghanistan are too small, but that is not the chief threat to the West's purposes there. The weakness and corruption of Afghanistan's elected government matter more. This weakness, moreover, is not the inevitable product of Afghanistan's poverty and backwardness, even though these things play a part. It is the result of a failure of political will in Kabul and in Washington. Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is not doing as much as he should to build an effective administration. And George Bush is not doing as much as he could to twist Mr Karzai's arm. [...]
"Corruption and incompetence are rampant, especially in the provinces. America and its allies are learning to deliver help directly through provincial reconstruction teams, but these efforts by foreign armies are no substitute for, and often retard, the growth of a national administration. As a result, the legitimacy of the government is leaking away under the pressure of thwarted expectations."
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See also: 'A war of money as well as bullets', The Economist, 22 May 2008 [subscription required]
