We need legitimacy for the puppet

This really is quite somethin. Somebody should be writing a book about the political controversies surrounding the recent Afghan presidential election. It should begin with the New York Times headline (since removed from the website but you can read the original headline here) declaring the election a success on the first day, and how the coverage in that newspaper started to change only after complaints were registered by the Afghan voters themselves. So the US arranges for a new show election, only to bestow needed legitimacy on the puppet president.