Now that Karzai is still the Afghani President and his victory has been paved by fraud, it remains to be seen just what the United States can do about it. He has been “our SOB” since the U.S.-led invasion of 2001 and it will be very difficult to decouple from him. Although, decoupling may just be what the U.S. needs to do. One of Karzai’s brothers, Ahmed Wali Karzai, has known ties to the opium trade AND on CIA’s payroll. That’s right — the U.S. CIA has been bankrolling a known drug kingpin. This is just the most recent corruption in the tangled web that is Afghani politics (and intrigue).

This comes as President Obama must make a very important decision on troop levels in the country and figure out an actual strategy for the U.S. military going forward. Do you stay or increase troops and tacitly accept Karzai as president (and all his corrupt cronies), or do you bring the troops home and pray for the best? Neither option is good and will most likely create some type of instability.

Afghanistan has been a quagmire for over 30 years; ask any of the former Soviet leaders from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Afghani fighters are seasoned and willing to go as long as it takes — and that is a very telling message. If the US isn’t willing to go all out and truly reconstruct the country, then staying may simply be a long and drawn out slog. Hopefully Obama makes a plan soon and puts it into motion. It’s time to put up or shut up in Afghanistan. There are only so many things that American troops can do there, protecting a corrupt, ineffective, drug connected government really should not be one of them.

June started off with a plane crash of an Airbus flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. President Obama went to Cairo to make a speech about Muslims and the U.S — some people thought it was pretty good while others had more measured reactions. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, widely reported to be sickly with cancer, tapped his youngest son Jong Un as successor, and his sushi chef said he’s just like his dad. Palau decided to accept a few of the Uighur Guantanamo detainees, and a few of them were also taken in by Bermuda. The Bermudans, however, weren’t so happy about how that happened. A little later, Iran had a Presidential election. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won under most likely fraudulent circumstances because more people voted in some towns than existed there. People protested, and Twittered, and protested some more, with violent repercussions. New York Times reporter David Rohde escaped after 7 months of being held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan. In a seemingly pro-feminist move (but actually to the chagrin of many feminists), Nicolas Sarkozy supported a ban of the burqa in France. In Honduras, President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a coup, and the U.S. military finally withdrew troops from Iraq to focus more instead on efforts to curb Taliban influence in Afghanistan.

In Urumqi, China, riots broke out between the majority Han Chinese and the minority Uighurs, and ethnic tension has remained heightened since, including recent claims that Uighurs are attacking Han Chinese with HIV infected needles. Two hotels were bombed in Jakarta, Indonesia. Hillary Clinton went to the Congo and brought attention to the use of rape and sexual violence as a tool of war (against men, too). Bill Clinton flew to North Korea and saved journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who had been captured in March and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. It was a good week to be a Clinton.

Former President of the Philippines Corazon Aquino died. RIP, Cory. In Taiwan, there was a really big typhoon. Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial was held over the question of whether or not she violated the terms of her house arrest when a crazy American guy swam through a lake to visit her on a supposedly divine mission. She was found guilty. The American was freed (but remained crazy). Everybody found out that private contractor organization Blackwater (now Xe) was hired by the CIA to assassinate targets. Scotland allowed the one convicted Lockerbie bomber to return to Libya because he is dying of cancer. Everybody was really, really mad, especially because it was probably because of oil. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe came down with the H1N1 virus. The Darfur conflict was reported as coming to an end. Afghanistan held Presidential elections which showed incumbent Hamid Karzai leading, but like Iran, this was probably also fraud. Unlike Iran, they’re actually recounting votes and throwing out bad ones.

Hopefully, that’s refreshed your mind with a whirlwind of memories from the past three months. But here are a couple of things that perhaps you might have missed:

China reversed its one child policy, but only in Shanghai.

Cambodia set out to host a “Miss Landmine” pageant to challenge traditional beauty standards by promoting a pageant for landmine victims. The pageant was quickly banned.

A Ukranian polka band came up with this cover of Katy Perry’s “Hot n Cold.”

Some of the lawsuits over harmful pesticide effects made by Nicaraguan farmers for Dole Food Co. turned out to be fraudulent (involving faked sterility tests, among other indicators), effectively casting doubt on all the other farmers who might have actually been harmed by the pesticides.

China tried to use electroshock therapy to cure teens of Internet addiction. The practice was quickly banned.

Canada granted refugee status to a white man from South Africa who claimed he was being persecuted in his native country on the basis of his race.

An IT company in South Africa ran a test to see what could send data faster: South African Internet service or a carrier pigeon. The pigeon won.

Anything missing? Of course. Drop a comment to add in any other summer global affairs news that slipped through the cracks!

Afghanistan, on the other hand, has received billions of dollars in aid and Karzai has received large amounts of military support as well. This does not bode well going forward in state-building. It weakens the American argument that democracy and elections build states. Afghanistan has had at least two national elections since the American invasion of late 2001, and it has been regarded as one of the most corrupt countries in the world today. Bribery and kickbacks run rampant, and that is in addition to the fact that the Karzai government fails to truly rule much more than the capital, Kabul.

To complicate matters, Americans are slowly losing faith in the outcome and increasingly questioning the actual mission there. President Obama has stated a willingness to commit more troops to Afghanistan. These new fraud allegations make an already difficult mission even more so in that it creates the appearance that the US is continually supporting corrupt leaders that support American interests.

No election is perfect and discrepancies will always surface, but it is important to remember that such systematic efforts to create desired outcomes are the antithesis of what democracy is all about. The U.S. has weathered the Iranian election relatively well in that it has maintained a low profile. How the U.S. proceeds in Afghanistan will be much more telling of just how much is invested in Afghanistan’s development itself and how much is simply in having Karzai remain in power. History tells us all an interesting story, hopefully the US has learned and from it and takes a longer term view this time.

Most people have probably never heard of this book, but I find it very insightful when looking at the idea of stability. Ian Bremmer (president of the Eurasia Group) explains his theory that stability can only come in one of two forms: either through dictatorial rule or democracy. By providing fascinating examples of countries along different points of his curve, Bremmer finds a simple way to show why democracy in general is a very sound political model. His use of North Korea, as an example of a stable state due to its military and communist leadership, illustrates the fragility of such governments.

My favorite chapter compares and contrasts Yugoslavia and South Africa. Both went through major political upheavals in the 1990s, yet only one was able to come out stable. South Africa weathered the first fully democratic elections in the country’s history peacefully and successfully. Yugoslavia devolved into bloody, violent, ethnic war and eventually broke up into five countries. Interestingly enough the effects of that era are still being seen; in that the Union of Serbia and Montenegro dissolved in 2006, and last year Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia as well.

While the book is political, it is also anecdotal and very easy to read. Bremmer’s style is easy to follow and very digestible. A great addition to any political junkie’s library, The J Curve provides a great set of ideas to examine why other countries have either succeeded or failed in the quest for stability. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with interests in international politics and comparative political systems.

Often international pressure is placed on countries to move toward a more democratic state and possess the associated qualities like freedom and liberty. Two weeks ago, Bangladesh celebrated a new milestone, the return to democratic rule. After election preparations in 2006 were shut down and emergency rule imposed, many on-lookers cast doubt on the future of Bangladesh to protect its citizens’ rights and the rule of law, but the general elections on December 29th proved to be free and fair according to the Bangladesh Election Commission and 20,000 international observers. The peaceful return to democratic rule is certainly something to celebrate on its own, but taken into historical context, this is an even more amazing feat. Just 37 years ago, Bangladesh became its own country; seceding from Pakistan after a bloody battle. Since that time, Bangladesh has undergone numerous governmental and institutional changes, and in addition to these transitions, Bangladesh has simultaneously been faced with the steep challenges of many other developing countries. In parallel, America at it’s 37th birthday was engaged in the War of 1812 and numerous battles across the U.S. waging war with Native American tribes. Although this is certainly not an exact comparison, it provides an interesting perspective to look at the progress of nations in relation to their place in history. Hopefully, this milestone in Bangladeshi history will be the first of many that improve the lives of those in Bangladesh and the rest of the globe.

Video: Bangladesh Restores Democracy

In a country that is experiencing a resurgence of political interest amongst its youth likened to the pre-Kennedy era, twenty-five year old John Wilson’s campaign for State Representative in Topeka, Kansas represented this generation’s challenge: sustained awareness and activism. I spoke with Wilson just a few weeks before his narrow defeat to Tom Sloane, a fourteen-year incumbent of the position. Probing his motivations to enter public office at such a young age as well as his views concerning sustainable energy, the United States’ tarnished foreign policy, governmental regulation in the private sector, and American youth involvement in social affairs, the political hopeful’s candor and innate zeal for public service became refreshingly apparent. …Perhaps the energy that President-elect Barack Obama mustered, coupled with the awareness that the September 11th attacks and Hurricane Katrina awakened will prove their resilience in the coming years after all, motivating more young American professionals to get involved in service-oriented efforts and careers.

Since interviewing Rabin, I’ve had some time to really think about the actual events in Nepal last spring.  It’s really a remarkable event that was so ground up that I truly think it will ultimately work out in the end.  The Nepalis have taken ownership of the process and decided to do it in their own way.  That seems to be the only way that democracy ever sticks.

Rabin told me he’s sent the link from the preview to friends and family and I guess it has gotten a very welcome reception.  Not that I read my own press or feel that it really has anything to do with me, but it’s nice to know that I was (in some small way) able to get this story out and put a humanity to it.  The story was pretty much buried in obscurity by the US media, which is really a disservice considering how much we Americans go around touting democracy.  Maybe it was because the US didn’t seem to have that much to do with it??

For me this recent movement just proves the point that democracy can’t be a top-down or imposed concept.  It needs to be organic and have its own flavor based on national culture and history.  Nepal had made attempts at democratization years past, but it didn’t stick.  Obviously, the population as a whole wasn’t fully ready for it.  But this time they ran with it and were successful.  Hopefully it will be a good sign for other countries around the world.  The US very much has a role to play in the consolidation phase.  It’s not enough just to have elections, there needs to be assistance in building this new civil society and helping to iron out the inevitable bumps.

This will probably sound cheesy and overly sentimental, but I think the basic human story is easily the most important.  Having gotten to know Rabin and hear his story really showed me just how important this movement is to his country, and him. Being a human rights lawyer gives him a front row seat to the workings of the new republic.  What also makes it interesting is that he has a young son whose future just became that much brighter.

Last Tuesday was undeniably a historic night for the United States in the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the USA. Heralding Obama’s entrance to the White House as an end to the policies of the deeply unpopular Bush administration, millions of American citizens as well as global onlookers reacted with ecstatic joy, optimism, and nervous hope for the new President. Kenya, the home country of Obama’s father, declared Thursday, November 6 a national holiday. The city of Obama, Japan cheered on their namesake (and in another part of Japan, this video sprang up). The new President-Elect received congratulations from nine world leaders, including Nicolas Sarkozy (prime minister of France), Angela Merkel (German chancellor), Stephen Harper (Canadian prime minsister), Lee Myung-Bak (President of South Korea) and Gordon Brown (UK Prime Minister).

Obama’s new foothold in American foreign policy was also tested in his receipt of a congraulatory letter from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which marked the first time an Iranian leader has congratulated the winner of an American election in decades and sparking the possibility of diplomatic talks between the two countries. In the letter (translated here by the Washington Post), Ahmedinejad advised Obama to “choose to honor the real interests of people and justice and equity over the insatiable appetites of the selfish minority.” Obama has not officially accepted the congratulations, saying that he would instead review the letter closely first.

As the new president assembles his new administration, international hopes remain high. Obama’s reaction to Ahmedinejad’s letter has sparked some doubts that the new administration would significantly improve US relations with the Islamic world. Some have noted that Obama’s appointment of pro-Israel Rahm Emanuel as his new Chief of Staff indicates that his policies towards Palestine will remain no different from that of past administrations.

The new President’s first priority, of course, is aiding the recovery of the troubled American economy, and he is rapidly putting together a transition team to smoothe the process as much as possible. Soon, however, Obama will have to turn outwards and face a world that has extraordinarily high and hopeful expectations for him. In the past, Obama has shown the calm-headedness and efficiency to face off against (and defeat) the insurmountable challenges of the Clinton campaign and the Republican party. Whether or not he can channel those skills into an effective foreign policy to regain the United States’ favor in the world remains yet to be seen in the coming months.