Afghanistan: playing field for an international power game

An article today at Counterpunch paints a sad picture of Afghanistan as a place where people lead short lives of misery while foreign states game for power.
Average life expectancy in Afghanistan is 44 years, 20 to 30 years less than in neighbouring countries. More than a million have been killed in continuous conflict since the Soviet invasion of 1979, millions more maimed. Over 3 million Afghanis are refugees in other countries (mostly Pakistan), and 2 million more are displaced within their own country. Cold weather combined with a lack of electricity claims 1,000 lives annually.
Rather than collaborate to stop a 30-year humanitarian tragedy in Afghanistan, regional and world powers are thinking of their own interests. Writes A.M. Mujahid: "In seven years of US occupation of Afghanistan, the government of Hamid Karzai and American influence have remained limited to Kabul and a few other smaller areas. Now it is not just the Americans, NATO and Pakistan which are playing their cards, but India, Russia and Iran also have increased embassy staff and active participation in carving a realm of power in Afghanistan."
In a land of great hardship and violence, there's not much reason for optimism.