Afghanistan’s contested presidential election hangs over US transition

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — With his armored trucks creeping through the thronging bazaars that line Highway 1, Col. Tom Washington recently made his weekly trip from Kandahar Airfield to the governor’s palace.

Gov. Toryalai Wesa had just left for meetings in Kabul, so the colonel met with Kandahar Province’s deputy governor Abdul Qadim Patyal, as he often does.

Ask Washington where he’s from and he’ll tell you in a lilting Tidewater accent that he’s a Virginia native. Press further and you’ll find that doesn’t just mean he was born there. His family has lived in Virginia for eight generations and is related to the Washington, the first president of the United States. Washington’s role as military liaison to the governor’s office is one of the few US military jobs that will remain in Kandahar after the planned drawdown of troops is complete. While Washington will likely finish his tour at the end of the year, he'll be replaced by another handpicked colonel, continuing the mentorship and information sharing process that is central to the post-2014 US mission in Afghanistan.

President Obama has identified counterterrorism and training as the two emphases for the road ahead, and the soldiers tasked with carrying them out will have their work cut out for them. At the moment, US soldiers are leaving Afghanistan in droves, most military bases here are now in Afghan hands and US activities in 2015 and beyond are expected to be much smaller than they’ve been in more than a decade.

A few years ago, the main effort of US mentorship and training took place primarily at the lowest levels of Afghan military and politics: US soldier to Afghan soldier, squad to squad, platoon to platoon. Four months from the combat mission’s official end, mentorship occurs only at the highest provincial levels: US general to Afghan general, corps to corps, and in Kandahar City, colonel to governor.

Patyal is a soft-spoken Pashtun man whose delicate, measured movements belie a forceful intellect. He’s one of Afghanistan’s most prominent writers and poets, who has become a reluctant leader in one of the world’s most unforgiving cities. He became the director of information and culture in Kandahar after the previous director was assassinated, and rose to his current position in 2011 after the former deputy governor, Abdul Latif Ashna, was killed by a suicide bomber near his home.

“My family is supportive of my work, but also nervous,” Patyal said. “After the elections, I’m going to rest, return to school and finish my master’s degree (in history).”

Patyal and Washington are both somewhat relics of a bygone era, and it is fitting they should work to a common purpose, sharing information and high-minded ideas about security and politics in the ancient city of Kandahar. It is an uncertain time for security and politics there, and the still-unresolved presidential election looms large over every conversation about Afghanistan’s future.

Patyal has long experience with the media, and answers questions cannily, toeing the party line. He pitches stories to Afghan media that support his goals, like successful operations against the Taliban. Western media coverage has little effect on his day to day responsibilities, but he certainly recognizes the value of positive coverage in donor nations’ news outlets.

“We have a new government, only 13 years old, so of course we need advice and help,” Patyal said to me when I asked about his constituents’ outlook on the future. “People are optimistic here about the future as long as we have support from the international community and the US. There is not as much cultural conflict (between the Afghan National Army and the Kandahar people) as the media says there is.”

Washington has spent the past nine months building a strong working relationship with Patyal, so when the colonel asked him the same question, he responded as he would to a confidant.

“People have lost their trust in democracy — next election the people won’t vote,” Patyal said, while I scribbled notes. “Our civil society and youth groups are rejecting the election and asking what is its purpose?”

Washington responded with an example from his home and ancestry — that America’s early days were also violent and uncertain but their leaders’ devotion to the principles of democracy, rather than their own personal gain, created a strong nation.

The conversation gets a bit bizarre at points. “You’ve done a great job congratulating us on our successes and also telling the Afghan National Army you’re appreciative of them,” Washington said to Patyal, the Afghan poet’s eyebrow cocked. And Washington’s praise can come out a bit sideways, “You guys have the same brains as us, just different resources — but you’re just so resourceful and resilient.”

Despite some cultural awkwardness, the relationship is a good fit for both parties. It doesn’t take a tremendous amount of effort and resources to maintain the link between Washington and the governor’s office and both sides say they gain considerable insight into the others’ plans and aspirations. Washington said that while he may only visit in person once a week or so, he emails and speaks on the phone with Patyal and Wesa almost every day.

Patyal said he is concerned about Kandahar’s electricity after September 2015, when US fuel subsides for the city’s diesel generators stop completely, potentially throwing the city into darkness. But a year is a long way off, and the major issue on his mind is the presidential election.

“People are holding their breath because the election is unresolved, business is slow and the government has stopped for 9, 10 months now,” Patyal said. “Tomorrow is Afghanistan’s 95th Independence Day, but the mullahs won’t let us be independent. They don’t want us to listen to radios, or send our girls to school.”