The Afghan presidential election scheduled for next year is already drawing some dangerous candidates. Abdul Rassoul Sayyaf—the man who brought al Qaeda to Afghanistan—announced on October 3 that he would be running for office.

Before registering, Sayyaf proclaimed, “Today, I nominate myself in order to serve my countrymen and my nation. I want to stand alongside the true servants of Afghanistan.” His brief speech did little to ease the concerns of Western diplomats and those looking for the upcoming election to effect positive change for the Afghani people.

Sayyaf has deep ties to militant Islam, is firmly grounded in conservative Islam, and was even mentioned in the 9/11 reports as being the “mentor” to Khalid Sheikh Muhammed, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. He was a known associate of Osama bin Laden, and established numerous paramilitary camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the 1980s and ’90s. There are even Islamic groups named after him.

If a man such as Sayyaf can run for president, what state is the nation really in?

Look at Afghanistan. After 12 years of occupation, the loss of American lives, billions spent on the offensive, more on aid and propping up the new administration, and still, the democratic dream is feeble at best. Even with the death of Osama bin Laden, terrorism was not routed from the country. On the contrary, the Taliban is back stronger than ever. With no lasting changes having been made despite the massive expenditures over the last 12 years, wouldn’t you say America’s strength has been spent in vain?

As the Trumpet has said from the beginning, America’s campaign in Afghanistan was doomed to fail from the start. It was war aimed at the wrong target, gone about in an unwinnable way. And trying to solve that nation’s problems through democracy has been a fool’s errand. As Trumpet columnist Joel Hilliker wrote, “The bottom line is, democracy is an impossible fit in Afghanistan. The nation’s history of ethno-regional warlordism is simply too strong.”

How true that was—and is. That election was rampant with corruption and ended with Mohammed Karzai winning and paying off all the warlords who supported him. Back then, despite copious evidence that the U.S. was losing the battle for Afghanistan, diplomats and the media and diplomats continued trumpeting the success of democracy.

In October 2008, Mr. Hilliker wrote a separate article titled “Afghanistan: Back to Where We Started,” linking Afghanistan’s return to its former ways to the weakening of America. It explained the real cause—the spiritual cause—for America’s failings. He wrote:

Consider. To the ancient nation of Israel, God promised manifold blessings for obedience to His laws. Among these was the promise of security through supernatural protection … (Leviticus 26:7-8). Clearly the U.S. is not receiving this blessing today.The counterpart to the promised blessing of victory over enemies is God’s warning about terrifying curses for disobedience. The idea of being under a curse may seem ancient and superstitious in this modern, scientific age. But if you believe the Bible, you know that curses are real—even today. To rebellious Israel and its descendants (which include the United States), God warns, “And I will break the pride of your power … And your strength shall be spent in vain …“ (Leviticus 26:19-20). Consider the staggering implications of these scriptures. They imply that these modern nations would have power, and pride in that power—they would have military strength. … But—because of these nations’ disobedience—God would break that pride, and thus—as a curse—all that power would be wasted, squandered!Is America now under this curse?Absolutely. There could be no more perfect description of the U.S. today—still far and away the greatest military power on Earth—than to say that the pride in its power has been broken, and that it spends its strength in vain.

As columnist Ron Fraser put it: “The reality is that, in keeping with its consistent, misguided policy practiced since the Korean War, the U.S. simply refused to vanquish the enemy in Afghanistan ….”

Abdul Rassoul Sayyaf’s candidacy is one more testimony to the fact that the pride of America’s power in Afghanistan is broken and its strength has been spent in vain.

The results of America’s international decline will be hard. After all, failing to turn to God brings curses. But there is still hope—these curses are designed to turn people back to God, not push them further away.

And the ultimate end is actually good news. As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in “Why We Cannot Win the War Against Terrorism”:

[E]ven if we don’t change our evil ways, this is all leading directly to the return of Jesus Christ. That is the best possible news this world could ever hear! This evil world of terrorism and war is about to end forever. It will soon be replaced by a world full of prosperity and peace. Then all mankind will understand and be fulfilling their incredible human potential.