Dear Friends,
It seems to me that if Hamid Karzai really wants what is best for Afghanistan he would announce that he will not run again and the rest of his term will be focused on cleaning up the Afghan government.
This would clean up his image so to speak. He would go from the guy who rigged an election to the guy who voluntarily renounced his power for the good of the nation. That would give him much more moral clout. Hamid Karzai would then be the first modern leader in Afghanistan to voluntarily step down.
The mere announcement would show that Karzai has at his heart the best interests of Afghanistan. One of the great political philosophers said, what makes a king, a king, is public opinion. If the people woke up one morning and forgot he was king, he would no longer be king and would in fact, he would be ridiculed for trying to push the point. So if public opinion is that Karzai has the best interests of Afghanistan at heart the job of ruling will be that much easier.
It would also give him moral standing to ask people to step down. Karzai could legitimately make the argument that a person was fine at the job, allowing them to save face, but need to step down to allow new ideas. Just like Karzai would be doing.
The announcement alone would focus the people of Afghanistan. Even though there was an election the people of Afghanistan never thought there would be substantive change. They knew the fix was in for Karzai. But the devil you know.. They fear the unknown more than the Karzai government’s corruption. If Karzai made a pledge to step down after his term is served , fear will focus the minds… of the people, the Elite, and the bureaucracy. Fear of who or what will come next.
It would establish a precedent. The next president would be under much pressure to step down after two terms in office… Like Karzai had done. This keeps churn in the top management of a country. Churn of officials keeps corruption to a minimum. (Barring a NUMA). It also helps minimize stagnation of ideas.
Even taken to the point of constitutional reform. Establishing a term limit for the President. Today the Afghans are debating limiting the powers of the President in Afghanistan. If instead, they limit the term of office and the access to the military, they will achieve the same ends with less turmoil.
History would treat Karzai better. Think about how history remembers… Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius. Cyrus is largely remembered for releasing the Jews. Cambyses is remembered in Herodotus as a blood thirsty drunk. Darius for being defeated by the Greeks at the battle of Marathon. (The other one for being defeated by Alexander). Who is remembered with the most warmth? Cyrus… for saving the Jews. Great men are remembered for their most humane acts or their least humane acts. The choice is the actors.
So it seems that it would benefit Karzai to announce he will step down, the country of Afghanistan would benefit, the people would benefit and the children of Afghanistan would benefit. To do so would be the classic win, win. Unless Karzai has different aims…
