The President Who Would Be King -- Op-Ed Contributors

Perhaps the biggest problem is that Afghanistan’s 2004 Constitution is inappropriate and ineffective. The strong presidential system it embodies has not served the country well. ---- This is precisely what has happened to President Karzai. A decent and incorruptible man, he has nonetheless grown increasingly isolated from the public. His position has been undermined by associates in the executive branch who lack his personal qualities, and by the allocation of ministries to various factions as political prizes. ---- The result is a corrupt and dysfunctional government in which senior positions are filled not on the basis of merit but by family, tribal, ethnic and factional connections. The president and his key advisers increasingly attract the blame for all the failures of Afghanistan’s transition; the presidential system is cracking under the weight of the burdens it is expected to carry.