Last week, Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, the first Vice-President, said that every one was tired of the current government. He further stated that even those who govern were tired of the way they govern. These remarks, which came in a ceremony to introduce Salahuddin Rabbani as the new chairman of High Peace Council, is an expression of accumulated frustration by the officials within President Hamid Karzai's government that have an extremely symbolic role, serving president Karzai's two main purposes: 1) to showcase that different ethnic groups are represented to his government, and 2) to keep some strong and influential figures busy and engaged in his administration in order to prevent them from joining a more resonant voice calling for political reforms.

Fahim was a prominent and an affluent member of National Front under former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was assassinated by the Taliban in his capacity as the head of High Peace Council, and in his efforts to work to bring peace to the country. President Karzai opted him as his first deputy to cause a split in the front, which could have challenged president Karzai more vigorously in the 2009 election had it remained together.

It is not too difficult to untangle the mystery of the ongoing debacle and fiasco in the country: corruption runs rampant; insurgent groups dare to launch and carry out well-coordinated complex assaults right into the heart of the country; High Peace Councilors are making money from the international aid without any results or progress in achieving peace; people continue to get more and more frustrated by a lack of responsiveness by Karzai's government; and people feel less safe and secure than before in the last ten years. This a real picture of a failure that needs to be fixed.

One thing is crystal-clear that the current trend will never lead to peace and stability. There are widening gaps between competing ethnic groups due to a centralized power structure and an authoritarian political decision-making process.

Marshal Fahim also made mention of ongoing attempts made by some circles in the government to exclude other political groups from power. He, therefore, called for accommodating the Taliban's demands and interests if they choose to accept the constitution and civil values created over the last ten years.

Since Afghan rulers have been running their regimes based on their personal, family, clan and tribal propensities and interests, there has not been a strong national identity developed. This vacuum has rendered the country extremely divided. Under such circumstances, attempt to monopolize power or choosing a centralized form of political structure is ineffective and continues to remain as a source of heightened political contentions and conflicts between different identity groups. This is the real reason for the ongoing debacle and it is not too difficult to untangle.