AP Photo

Given that the Afghan election depends heavily on donkey power to deliver and collect the ballot boxes in some of the remoter regions, it is likely to be at least two weeks before the outcome of yesterday's presidential election becomes clear. But the millions of dollars the incumbent, Hamid Karzai, is reported to have spent to guarantee electoral success, and the repellent political deals he has engaged in to shore up his power base, mean that no one in Afghanistan seriously believes the president is about to be ousted from power.

However, if he does serve a second term, it will be no thanks to the efforts of the Western coalition that continues to prop up his regime. In fact, the likely election result is precisely the opposite of the outcome British and American officials...