The Afghan political leadership had multiple opportunities to unify itself for the sake of the future of the nation during the past two decades. Sadly, it did not. Lacking national foresight and imagination, Afghan leaders proved to have a myopic tribalist mindset rather than a national vision for the future of their country. They failed time and again to work together to build a unified nation, a dignified country, and a strong state that would be respected by other countries in the region and beyond. Instead of governing with unity, prosecuting the war effectively, and strengthening the country’s defenses against a brutal insurgency, Ghani spent much of his time in office engaging in petty politics and political infighting—robbing Afghanistan of the opportunity to become a strong nation-state. The only exception here is the Afghan vice president, Amrullah Saleh, who espouses a national vision for his country, has been a reliable U.S. partner and is corruption-free. 

For Afghanistan to come out of this trying time successfully, its leaders must relinquish exclusion and embrace inclusion. They must resign from their tribalist mentality of prejudice in favor of a national vision for a unified imagined community of all Afghans living and working together toward a better future. Only then will the ANDSF be able to defeat the Taliban’s resurgence, as I detail in an additional article. 

Rafi Khetab is a national security analyst and Vice President of Operations at CAPITALIZE LLC, a DC-based government consulting firm. He previously worked for the U.S. government in Afghanistan for several years. He holds two advanced degrees in international relations from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and the American University’s School of International Service. 

 Image: Reuters