Vietnam Cum Afghanistan

American support of President Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan mirrors its ill-advised support of Ngo Dinh Diem in Vietnam. Ted Carpenter of the Cato Institute says a shortsighted and simplistic foreign policy is to blame: “Just as success in South Vietnam was deemed essential to blunt the communist threat, success in Afghanistan is deemed crucial to the war against terrorism. And once again America is linked to a deeply flawed leader with whom U.S. officials have become disillusioned. … American policymakers need to overcome some deeply ingrained counterproductive habits. Not only do policymakers tend to overestimate the strategic importance of small Third World countries to U.S. national security, they also see foreign political clients through the prism of American ideals.”