“New Afghan Government Faces a Clash of Cultures”
The Washington Post, October 18, 2014, p.A4
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/17/us-nigeria-boko-haram-idUSKCN0I61N720141017
“Mohammad Mohaqiq thinks he’s owed a lot for throwing his support behind Afghanistan’s U.S.-brokered coalition government. The influential former warlord-turned-politician expects nothing less than a fifth of all Cabinet ministries and governorships for his ethnic group. ‘Twenty to 22 percent,’ declared Mohaqiq in an interview at his opulent, heavily guarded house, ‘should go to those from the Hazara community.’ But President Ashraf Ghani and his close aides have vowed to fill government positions based on skills and competence — not ethnic or regional quotas. … Ghani, an American-educated technocrat who cites Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon B. Johnson as his influences, wants to enact reforms and create a modern government run by experienced civil servants accountable to the people. But he has to contend with the high expectations of dozens of powerful individuals under him, some with nefarious pasts, who helped him attain the presidency. They are steeped in the traditional ways of Afghan politics, driven by ethnicity, patronage and enormous egos. … Many Afghans question whether Ghani can effectively work with Abdullah Abdullah, his political rival who is now his partner in the power-sharing government. The pair, diplomats and analysts said, will need to rein in the demands and ambitions of the outsized personalities in their respective camps in order to prevent the sort of divisiveness and corruption that have plagued the country in the past.”
Quickie Analysis: Even if Ghani is personally interested in a technocratic government not divvied up on ethnic lines, others in his faction, like his vice president, Uzbek warlord Abdurrashid Dostum, will not be so keen on the idea. It could become a test to see who really runs Afghanistan: the president or the warlords.
Not What You Might Think 