Afghan tribal elders: Don't isolate king
As far as a non-Western type democracy, with leaders elected by an educated electorate, it ain't gonna happen in Afghanistan.
First, except for a small minority in the largest cities, they aren't educated by our standards. Second, they don't vote. If they did, they'd vote the way their tribal elders told them to.
Afghan Tribal Elders: don't isolate king
It's a great place to get bogged down chasing two, or three or 4 guerillas at a time when they are importing them from Arabian countries, Chechnya and so on. The US (coalition) has done a fantastic job over there, really good. And it might not be wise to attempt too much. I don't know when the returns start to diminish too much, but it might be soon. Arf