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Ear to the Ground

Move Over, President Karzai, Here Comes Your Prime Minister

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Posted on Mar 23, 2009
Karzai
Wikimedia Commons / The White House

If you can’t beat ’em, bring in a PM: Afghan President Hamid Karzai, pictured, is about to have some company in Kabul.

In an attempt to weaken Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s grip on power, certain powers that be from the West are creating a brand new prime minister position and planning to redirect funds from Karzai’s headquarters in Kabul to the provinces.

The Guardian:

A revised role for Karzai has emerged from the White House review of Afghanistan and Pakistan ordered by Barack Obama when he became president. It is to be unveiled at a special conference on Afghanistan at The Hague on March 31.

As well as watering down Karzai’s personal authority by installing a senior official at the president’s side capable of playing a more efficient executive role, the US and Europeans are seeking to channel resources to the provinces rather than to central government in Kabul.

A diplomat with knowledge of the review said: “Karzai is not delivering. If we are going to support his government, it has to be run properly to ensure the levels of corruption decrease, not increase. The levels of corruption are frightening.”

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By msgmi, March 24, 2009 at 8:22 pm Link to this comment
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Karzai’s political future never was. Deja vu of the former shah is planned to be history in Afghanistan; except it will never work. What is missing is the second and third cup of tea offering.

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Gulam's avatar

By Gulam, March 24, 2009 at 4:22 am Link to this comment

There is a conscious, probably American condoned, move here to distance Karzai from the unpopular American and ISAF control of the country. He is more likely to preserve his puppet regime intact through the next election if he appears to be standing up against an unpopular occupation. Karzai once worked for UNICAL he is purely an actor on the American team. The vast majority of Afghans have all along only wanted to be left alone to continue with their traditional way of life. America is using the narrative of liberation as a stalking horse for domination, as it has done again and again and again.

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Tony Wicher's avatar

By Tony Wicher, March 23, 2009 at 11:39 pm Link to this comment

Hee, hee. Good one, P.T.

Yes, the level of corruption on Afghanistan is truly alarming. There are large tribal areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan that have never been administered by any central national government. 
Most of the opium in the world is grown there and being divided amongst a motley collection of gangsters in the narcoterrorism business - various warlords, Taliban, Al Qaeda, the central government, the CIA and the ISI. They all look like crooks to me - I can’t tell the difference. How is Obama going to deal with something like that?

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By P. T., March 23, 2009 at 10:59 am Link to this comment

Democracy in action.  I don’t think insurance companies are going to be offering to sell Karzai any policies.

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