A familiar story in forgotten Afghanistan.(Insider Report)

"Excellent news from Afghanistan," wrote Toronto Sun foreign affairs analyst Eric Margolis in a December 12 column. "A new president, chosen in the country's first democratic election, has just been sworn in. He pledges to extend democracy across Afghanistan, liberate and educate all women, and wipe out 'the last remnants of Islamic terrorism' impeding economic and social development. Foreign troops supporting the Kabul government will remain only until security is assured and terrorism eliminated."

Margolis was not marking the December 7, 2004 inauguration of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Washington's hand-picked surrogate; he instead was reminding readers about the 1987 installation of the Soviet Union's stooge, Muhammad Najibullah. His point is that history is repeating itself and that the news from Afghanistan will turn out no better now than it was then.

"Afghanistan's first true national elections were in 1986 and 1987, under Soviet military occupation," Margolis points out. "First, the KGB organized a 'loya jirga,' or national assembly in 1985 and, through bribes and intimidation, got its new Afghan 'asset,' Najibullah, positioned to replace the ineffectual Afghan communist puppet then in office."

"In 2002," Margolis continues, "the CIA got its ...