Afghanistan: the "puppet government" count is rising

In a feature about Afghanistan in the New Statesman last month, William Dalrymple referred to the "puppet government" of Hamid Karzai.

The phrase was used again by Matthew Parris in the Times on Saturday. Parris argued that defeat for British and US forces is inevitable; it's just a question of how it's finessed:

"Negotiation with the enemy will begin to be presented,not as surrender, but as a refinement of our war aims. And a pitiful spectacle will start - has started already: a desperate talking-up of the prospects of whatever puppet government we will leave behind before we scuttle." 

If Parris is right, the dismissal of Karzai's as a "puppet government" will become more common. 

Watch out for the expression in Western media as an index of falling confidence about the war. 

It's not the first time the phrase has been used in this context, but it comes from some rather particular places. 

Thanks to the wonders of Lexis-Nexus' newspaper search tool (admittedly not comprehensive in its coverage), I was able to trace its use over the past five years. 

I came across 28 references in British newspapers to "puppet government" in relation to Afghanistan: 

The largest group - nine references - were in the ultra-left Morning Star. 

The next biggest group - eight references - were in stroppy letters from readers to the editors of regional papers. 

The phrase was used six times in quotes from the spokesmen of the Taliban or Afghan warlords: it's how they describe the Karzai government.

That left only five references over five years (excluding the two mentioned above) in news or comment written by British journalists, all from regional papers.

If what was once the political analysis of the Taliban and the Morning Star becomes conventional wisdom, Parris will surely have been proved right.