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MARCO WERMAN: In 2002, Rory Stewart walked across war-torn Afghanistan. He wrote about his experience in his book, “The Places In Between”. Rory Stewart is now Faculty Director of The Carr Center For Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. He says Afghanistan will require more than a new leadership in Washington.

RORY STEWART: The first thing is we need to recognize that we've been there for seven years, and there is not the kind of political progress to show that we might have hoped for. We were expecting to be able to create a relatively stable functioning state. That has not happened. It's in a mess.

WERMAN: What about the political will, though? I mean, President Hamid Karzai is currently fighting for his political life right now, and he's seen as being only able to control Kabul.

STEWART: You're absolutely right. The key to redeveloping the country like Afghanistan is going to be political leadership. They're going to have to find their great founding father, their own Thomas Jefferson. And to date, it appears that President Karzai has been able to find that kind of support, that kind of legitimacy in the country.

WERMAN: Do you think the country needs a change in leadership?

STEWART: I think probably what the country needs is for the international community to create the space for politics to happen. In other words, President Karzai could probably do a better job if we were not perpetually interfering, micromanaging – if we really learned to delegate and trust Afghan leadership. If we're not going to do that, then it doesn't really matter who you bring in.

WERMAN: President Obama has not committed to a specific increase in US troop strength there. But do you think that's the answer, and do you like what you're hearing so far from the new President?

STEWART: I'm very worried by a lot of what I'm hearing from the new President. I don't think a troop increase is very sensible. The numbers that we're hearing are three more combat brigades, but nobody is explaining to me exactly what those troops are supposed to do, or why another 30,000 troops is going to make any difference when the previous 70,000 have struggled to control the country. I think the important step for the Obama Administration is to put Afghanistan in context, to ask the question, “How much does Afghanistan matter in terms of the US strategic priorities?” My guess is the answer to that would be that Pakistan probably matters more in terms of terrorism, that Iran, Iraq, even Egypt matter more in terms of regional stability, and that in terms of poverty, perhaps a lot of sub-Saharan Africa matters more. So I'm worried that we're putting a lot of eggs in that basket -- that the President is putting his credibility and the credibility of the US alliance on the line in a country where progress may be very difficult.

WERMAN: Do you think the Taliban will always be in Afghanistan despite, you know, who emerges as the leader in the country? I mean, will they always be there lurking in the mountains, causing trouble?

STEWART: I think the Taliban have proved themselves to be an incredibly vigorous group. They've grown over the last two years in a way that you couldn't have imagined. They are good grassroots politicians. They're not using tribal structures. They're not always now hiding in the mountains. So yes, I think the Taliban is a political force – probably the most potent grassroots political force in the country. And therefore, I'd guess they probably will be around for a long time. And the challenge for the West and the challenge for Afghans is to find an alternative political force which has the same vigor and the same appeal which can actually marginalize the Taliban.

WERMAN: I mean, having just gone back to Afghanistan last week, I'm curious to know then, why, you know, given that it's basically a failed state, why this part of the world is important to you?

STEWART: I love Afghanistan. I have been working there for the last three years. And my experience of working in Afghanistan is incredibly positive. It's a country with a fantastic sense of humor. One of the things that doesn't come across, perhaps, in the slightly grim, black-and-white images of war that we tend to see in the media, is that it's a country of a great deal of color, a great deal of energy. It's true, of course, that the government is not Afghanistan's strength. But I often find in rural communities that there's an astonishing sense of resilience, which is inspiring.

WERMAN: Rory Stewart is the Faculty Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. He's also the author of “The Places In Between.” Rory, thank you very much for your time.

STEWART: Thank you.

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