On donating to Afghanistan

Everyone knows what's at stake. If the international community lets Afghanistan down, just like it did after the Soviet retreat in 1989, Afghanistan will soon sink even deeper into a black hole of criminality, new civil wars and even worse hardships for the impoverished population.

"Don't abandon us!" That was the pithy message from Afghanistan's prime minister, Hamid Karzai, to the international donors' conference (in Tokyo.) A massive Marshall Plan for Afghanistan would undoubtedly be a good investment. We can only hope that the world's donors keep their promises even after the media spotlights have been switched off.

-- Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm, Sweden