BBC finally Realizes an Idea whose Time has Come (HT to NRO)

IT'S NOT SHANGRI-LA, BUT... [Andrew Stuttaford]

The BBC’s John Simpson is no fan of much of American foreign policy
(particularly in Iraq), which makes this (relatively) optimistic account of
developments in Afghanistan all the more revealing:

“The fact is that even if the streets of the city erupt with explosions this
coming week, it will be too late. Barring the worst of disasters, the
presidential election now seems unstoppable. The process of voter registration
has been a remarkable success: so good, it may be that at least a million
voters have registered more than once. "This is Afghanistan, after all,' one
Western ambassador says, indulgently. Forty per cent of the registered voters
are women: another major success. So although there have been problems in the
south and west of the country - the Pashtu-speaking areas, where the Taliban
have traditionally had their support - the election should be an important
stage on Afghanistan's road to recovery.”

Read the whole thing.

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Fancy that, the BBC acknowledging the possibility of allowing Afghans the right
to vote on such things as whether woman should be excecuted at soccor games or
not.

BMP