Re: George Will Is Blown Over By The Breeze

Matt Lewis | September 01, 2009 1:14 PM

As you can imagine, much has been written already about Will's controversial column, but one point has not really been made.

One premise of Will's argument is that Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government is essentially worthless. Will, however, fails to note he may soon be out of office.

On August 20, an election was held, for which ballots are still being counted. Currently, it appears Karzai may not reach the requisite 50 percent of the vote, and may thus have to face a runoff election.

If the anti-Karzai candidates all rally around his main foe, Abdullah Abdullah, it is at least possible Karzai will be replaced as president.

Considering Abdullah would likely be an improvement over Karzai, even if one agrees with Will about "nation building," the prudent writer might have at least postponed his declaration of failure until after the fate of Karzai was determined.

At worst, George Will is the advocating a John Murthaesque strategy. At best, he is premature ...

... By the way, I'm scheduled to be on MSNBC today between 3:30 and 4 pm EST to discuss this.