SJS 6: Afghanistan's Arduous Search for Stability

Source: Barfield, Thomas. "Afghanistan's Arduous Search for Stability." Current History 
     115.780 (2016): 136-43. Print.


Author Credentials: Thomas Barfield is an author who has written various books about Afghanistan. He attended Harvard in the year 1978. He has received an award for his study in political sciences. With his high level of education and praise, Thomas is very qualified to write an article about Afghanistan's struggle. 

Summary: Thomas starts out explaining how Afghanistan has had the lack of leadership and unity in Kabul. The former president Hamid Karzai seemed to be just what Afghanistan needed in 2002, but he proved to be corrupt. He depended too much on making personal political deals. Karzai received a lot of foreign aid and threatened to become a security problem if he ever stopped receiving aid. He also had an in with the United States and George W. Bush; America believed changing leadership in Afghanistan would require too much money and time. when Obama came into leadership he had a different perspective on Afghanistan, and blamed its country's struggle on Karzai. Obama and Biden made it clear the relationship between America and Afghanistan was going to be a lot less affectionate. Afghanistan took this separation harshly, and was very hostile toward America. Once Karzai stepped down Ashraf Ghani was to take his place as president with Abdullah Abdullah as the chief executive officer on his side. This change of leadership was believed to be a very positive one; both men were very eager to make better connections with the rest of the world, America in particular. The two leaders had different ideals and followers/staff, this brought conflict in the office time to time. The Taliban also proved to be a consistent problem  put temporarily on the defensive by the U.S. Many countries such as China and Iran have taken interest in Afghanistan, they hope for peace with the Taliban as well. There have been many peace talks that have taken place, hoping for a new stable Afghanistan. 

Analysis: Overall, the piece was well written and very informative. The author was able to make a point and back it up. His overall argument that Afghanistan is a country in need of watch was proven more than once in his piece. One could tell the information was factual, and there were very few biased points made by the educated author. Being so educated in the area, the author proves to be reliable.