a crazy scotsman

Flipping through the July 28, 2008 issue of Time, I came across the article "How to Save Afghanistan" written by Rory Stewart. It's a good piece. It inspired me to go back and re-read his two books--The Places In Between and The Prince of the Marshes--because they are both those profound sort of nonfiction reads that come around so rarely as to make them practically endangered.

If you don't want to read the whole article, here are a couple pieces from it:

"Afghanistan produces 92% of the world's opium (used to make heroin) and 35% of its cannabis and has a flourishing trade in looted antiquities."

"Many of these problems cannot be solved by the West, however many billions we spend or thousands of troops we deploy. Our money and expertise, which have helped make the central bank and the Afghan National Army professional and competent , cannot prevent the wide-spread corruption in the police and legal system. A central bank is relatively small, dealing with narrow issues such a currency and interest rates on which international economists can offer practical, technical advice. An army is able to develop its esprit de corps and drills in barracks, isolated from the broader society. But policemen and judges are much more connected to society and much more exposed to local politics and corruption. This is why most developing countries have relatively effective central banks and armies but corrupt and despised police forces. It's also why every one finds it easier to build roads than to create rule of law, easier to build a school than a state. Afghans deal with most crimes outside the court system, using a traditional leader as an arbitrator. No amount of legal training can help a judge faced with drug lords who are prepared to kill his family. It is almost impossible for outsiders to reform this kind of system."