Obama "magic" just another illusion

Afghan boys look at U.S. Marines from India Company, 3rd Battalion 4th Marines, as they patrol at Delaram district in Nimroz province, southern Afghanistan, Jan. 19, 2010. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)

KABUL, Afghanistan — If Afghans mark the anniversary of Barack Obama’s inauguration at all, it will most likely be as the day that electricity came to Kabul. On Jan. 20, 2009, the lights came on and stayed on overnight in the Afghan capital, for the first time since the fall of the Taliban regime.

At the time, it seemed like just another miracle on a day that was doused in magic. America’s first African-American president gave a rousing speech, he offered to extend the hand of friendship to the rest of the world, his beautiful wife and adorable children beamed, and it was impossible to believe that things would not turn out alright.

Now, a year later, much of the glow has dimmed, at least from the perspective of the people of this sad and war-ravaged nation. It was inevitable, of course — no one could have lived up to the inflated expectations that Obamamania had generated. But in Afghanistan the disappointments have been especially bitter.

Over the past year, it seems the mood has darkened as the war has deepened. More and more of Afghanistan has become unstable, with insurgents and warlords vying for the honor of tearing the country apart.

Amid the chaos, the Obama administration has seemed unfocused and uncertain, with promises sounding increasingly hollow, according to Western and Afghan analysts.

The young American president unveiled his Afghan strategy barely two months into his administration. In late March, 2009, he announced a new “Afghan Compact” to battle corruption, a civilian surge to jump-start reconstruction, and an increase in troops. Sound familiar? The same themes were struck in December, when Obama once again presented a long-awaited policy review.

The scale, of course, had changed. In the halcyon spring of 2009, the United States had barely 40,000 troops in the country. By December it was over 60,000, and by the time the new “surge” is over there will be more than 100,000.

The other major difference between March and December, despite a determined rhetoric campaign, was a lessening of America’s commitment to Afghanistan. Domestic politics overtook the war, with the economy and health care absorbing time, energy, and funds.

For Afghanistan, Obama promised a withdrawal at the same time that he announced the troop increase: the United States would begin to bring home its soldiers in July, 2011. He also rejected high-flying promises of nation-building, trying instead to scale down expectations.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/afghanistan/100119/obama-inauguration-afghanistan