We commented last week on the strange sight of Hamid Karzai, the western puppet in Kabul, complaining about foreign interference in his country as he stood next to the general secretary of NATO.
It turns out the foreign influence Karzai was talking about was that of the US, not the usual suspect Pakistan. This morning's news that the US is to appoint a prime minister to circumvent Karzai should only be a surprise to those that fell for the stuff about building democracy in Afghanistan. Nevertheless it is a surprise that such fissures in the 'coalition' busted out into the open from behind closed doors. Maybe Karzai has done his pleading in private already and now sees the writing on the wall for his grubby little money-spinner otherwise known as governing Afghanistan. The US has lost patience with its dictator.
The US knows Karzai has no real power in the country other than that exercised by the warlords he has brought into his orbit. A puppet with no power is no good for the US. It's all dressed up in noble chatter about fighting the Karzai regime's corruption but don't let that fool you. The US had had it with Karzai because he has not delivered the head of Osma Bin-Laden or quelled the Taliban. Which is rather harsh given that the US hasn't achieved much in those spheres either.
As we argued at the weekend Obama's speech on Iran was more to do with clearing the way for a dramatic shift in the intensity of the Afghanistan/Pakistan war. This is another move on that chess board.
It turns out the foreign influence Karzai was talking about was that of the US, not the usual suspect Pakistan. This morning's news that the US is to appoint a prime minister to circumvent Karzai should only be a surprise to those that fell for the stuff about building democracy in Afghanistan. Nevertheless it is a surprise that such fissures in the 'coalition' busted out into the open from behind closed doors. Maybe Karzai has done his pleading in private already and now sees the writing on the wall for his grubby little money-spinner otherwise known as governing Afghanistan. The US has lost patience with its dictator.
The US knows Karzai has no real power in the country other than that exercised by the warlords he has brought into his orbit. A puppet with no power is no good for the US. It's all dressed up in noble chatter about fighting the Karzai regime's corruption but don't let that fool you. The US had had it with Karzai because he has not delivered the head of Osma Bin-Laden or quelled the Taliban. Which is rather harsh given that the US hasn't achieved much in those spheres either.
As we argued at the weekend Obama's speech on Iran was more to do with clearing the way for a dramatic shift in the intensity of the Afghanistan/Pakistan war. This is another move on that chess board.
Excellent! Karzai is an absolute failure and we really ought to find a way to get rid of him all together. The Afghan people have been through hell and many of them still live in a kind of hell. They will not mind it if the US manhandles their government for a few years if it yields tangible results, like amenities, food, jobs, etc. So, let's not pussyfoot around the issues. We are the greatest military and economic power the world has ever known. Let's show them what we can do.
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