Afghans Want Obama to Hold Karzai Accountable

On Afghanistan's independence day in August, my friends in Kandahar were puzzled. Why was the government bothering to celebrate the holiday? With 100,000 or so foreign troops occupying our country, how could we consider ourselves independent?

When my American friends and professors ask me if I think the United States should send additional troops to Afghanistan, I tell them yes, but only if the resources are distributed on the condition that the Afghan government cleans up its act. This often causes bewilderment on their part. "But Afghanistan is a sovereign state," they invariably reply. "How can the United States interfere in Afghanistan's domestic politics?"

In fact, as my friends noted on "independence" day, Afghanistan is not at this point a sovereign state. Two essential aspects of a sovereign state are holding a monopoly on the legitimate use of force and maintaining full control of territory. Afghanistan does not meet either of those criteria. It does not have a sufficient, capable force to protect itself against the Taliban and Al Qaeda and to control its territory, which is why the United States and NATO forces have been deployed there for the last eight years. That deployment means those governments have the right -- and even the responsibility -- to hold my government accountable.