David D. McKiernan Quotes
This is a country that historically has had very little central government.
Not only did the people in Afghanistan have very little experience with central government, but they had little history of government of any sort. There were loose tribes somewhat unified by culture, but there was little or no tribal government. The same with clans. Each Afghanistan male was his own ruler over his wives and children in a family centric society. While virtually all were Muslim, there was no hierarchy or structure of the clergy in that society.
David D. McKiernan, U. S. Army General, Commander, International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, Description of Afghanistan’s Governmental History, Quoted in Mother Jones, May / June 2009
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
There was huge pressure on the central government to decentralize as they held all the power in Indonesian society. However, if they devolved power to the Provinces (States), many of them could be large enough and independent enough to secede and become an independent country as East Timor had done. So the Indonesian power structure bypassed the Provincial governments and devolved power directly to the local governments, none of which was independent enough to go it alone. The desired objective was met—no more secessions. However, there was no one to worry about regional and national issues and problems as the politicians who had power were all local. The country was becoming non-functional in many ways.
David D. McKiernan is a retired United States Army four-star general who served in Afghanistan as Commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). He served concurrently as Commander, United States Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A) from October 6, 2008, to June 15, 2009.
