Obama Criticizes Afghan rape law

I think Obama's message that the law is "abhorrent" and his iteration that our main goal in Afghanistan is to root out Al Qaeda is very clear. In context, just looking past the fact that the law is clearly not in line with human rights, Karzai's acceptance of the law, seeing nothing wrong with it, puts the NATO allies in a hard place. While it is desireable to support the infrastructure and the fledgeling democracy of a country in the hopes that it can stand against being a refuge for extremist groups, it is really hard to work with a government that appears to fundamentally not share our values.

I don't think that necessarily makes the attempt useless. I do think that that means that our approach there needs to center even more on infrastructure, education, and on bringing in people who can help build a framework for a more modern approach.

And as far as women's rights are concerned, there is a part of me that is very happy we have Clinton as Secretary of State. I'm pretty sure her concerns have been made known.

At a conference on Afghanistan in The Hague, Scandinavian foreign ministers publicly challenged the Afghan leader to respond to a report on the new law in yesterday's Guardian, and the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was reported to have confronted Karzai on the issue in a private meeting.

At a press conference after the meeting, Clinton made clear US displeasure at the apparent backsliding on women's rights. "This is an area of absolute concern for the United States. My message is very clear. Women's rights are a central part of the foreign policy of the Obama administration," she said.

I don't doubt that she can express herself quite clearly on this topic.