Is There Hope for Afghanistan Yet?

Once-Docile Afghan parliament stands up to Karzai and becomes an ally of U.S.

"Although the United States and the parliament do not appear to be directly coordinating their strategies, their interests coincide. Both are pushing the increasingly erratic Karzai to become more accountable, to allow fair elections, and to reduce the corruption that has withered support for the government, feeding the Taliban's rise."

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"In recent months, the parliament has rejected Karzai's budget, much of his cabinet and, most important, his proposal to overhaul the nation's election law. Karzai's proposed changes would have, among other things, given him control of a commission assigned to investigate fraud allegations. The United States, the United Nations and many Afghans viewed the proposal as an attempted power grab and were relieved when the lower house of parliament voted overwhelmingly against it. Even Karzai's staunch supporters defied him, waving red cards to signify their opposition to the president's maneuver."

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"...Afghans are due at the polls in just five months for the country's first parliamentary elections since 2005. Karzai's critics say his original election law proposal would have enabled him to stock the parliament with allies and further consolidate authority in a government that lacks rival centers of influence. They say that after the fraud-marred presidential vote last year, the country's fragile democracy would not survive similarly tainted parliamentary elections."

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"Until now, the parliament was more notorious than influential, rarely challenging the president...

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"The parliament remains a rogues' gallery of drug barons, criminals and warlords. Many members are uneducated and even illiterate. But the complexion of parliament has shifted over the past year, as the warlords lost interest and a group of reformers -- including many women -- coalesced into a working group of approximately 30 that increasingly drives the body's agenda, members say."

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"Many of the reformers are strongly in favor of the U.S. role here and have been unsettled by Karzai's recent statements that appeared to attack the foreign presence. "We need U.S. support. If they don't support us for one day, we cannot survive to the next day," said Moeen Marastial, a parliament member who advised Karzai's reelection campaign last year."

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"Fawzia Koofi, one of 68 female members of the lower house, said the four-year-old parliament has become more assertive as members have come to recognize their powers. She said members also know that Karzai is deeply unpopular and that "when you talk against this government, people will vote for you.

Among the parliament's powers is the ability to impeach the president. Analysts say that is unlikely to happen because Karzai has significant leverage over members through the billions of dollars in U.S. assistance that his government directly or indirectly controls.

Still, Haroun Mir, the director of Afghanistan's Center for Research and Policy Studies, said the parliament can have a significant impact on Karzai's agenda, which is why he is working hard to influence the next elections. "Karzai has been very smart about making the political opposition irrelevant over the past eight years," Mir said. "The only way to have checks and balances in Afghanistan is through the parliament."

The last thing we need is a resurgence of the Taliban. This report, on the other hand, seems rather up-beat. We'll have to wait and see, I guess.