Stardate 20011227.0843

(On Screen): Interim Prime Minister Karzai is now working to recreate a government and a nation out of the ashes and wreckage of Afghanistan. After 25 years of war, there is little left of the infrastructure, both physical and human, which once ran the nation, and everything has to be created anew. There is much to do and they have little to work with.

The challenges facing him are daunting. There is the potential for revolt, which he seems to be dealing with. Different groups in the nation have their own agendas, and he has to balance them. He has to keep outside nations happy so they'll pour vital aid in. The people of Afghanistan are not used to living in a peaceful nation and they have to relearn how it's done. Of all the things Hamid Karzai needs, a 36-hour day is probably the most vital.

Yet in many ways, I think those taking on this great challenge wouldn't have it any other way. They are blessed to have great problems to solve, for it is surely better than what they used to have. The Taliban are gone, and everything else pales by comparison to that great advance. There are many problems in Afghanistan, but they are problems that the Afghans are glad to have, or at least glad to have the opportunity to solve.

It is better to have a shortage of kites than to have children being beaten for flying them.