Hamid Karzai will join Taliban

[Yusuf]

Hamid Karzai has threatened to join the Taliban.
Someone please post the news item that's there on times of india as I can't copy paste link on my phone.

This statement calls for first of all examining the mental health of the afghan president. Also its time that he is replaced. He is becoming more of a liability. He rather be bumped off I think.

 

[ajtr]

While Mr Obama’s decision might well have been due to the political resultant of the interests of the various arms of the US government, it is consistent with his approach of demonstrating insensitivity to the interests of existing and potential allies in order to appease adversaries. This will be costly. President Hamid Karzai is providing the first taste of the consequences of such an approach. More will follow. (See, for instance, Jennifer Rubin’s post at Commentary magazine’s blog)

 

[Soham]

Karzai threatens to join Taliban

Reiterating that it is "troubled" by the anti-US rhetoric of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a top Obama Administration official has said that his threat to join Taliban is a bit of a head scratcher.

The White House has also expressed its frustration at the sudden burst of anti-US statements by Karzai.

"That particular comment is a bit of a head scratcher.

But beyond that, we were troubled by some of his comments last week. We think we have addressed them. We are moving forward," Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P J Crowley told reporters at his daily news briefing.

"We want to see the Government of Afghanistan step up, take responsibility in key areas, demonstrate the kind of leadership that the Afghan people are expecting of it. We are there in Afghanistan because it is in our national interest to do so," he said.

"We are obviously spending significant resources both on the military side and the civilian side to do that. But there are clearly things that we want to see the government step up and do, and we are working with President Karzai and his government to see that happen," Crowley said.

Remarks by the State Department official and that of the White House came after a series of anti-US rhetoric from Karzai.

Karzai, first blamed the foreign forces for alleged fraud in last year's presidential elections and then he threatened to join the Taliban if his voices were ignored. He also alleged that the West was meddling in Afghanistan's internal affairs.

"The remarks are genuinely troubling. The substance of the remarks - as have been looked into by many - are obviously not true. We will continue to work with President Karzai and others in the Afghan leadership to take the steps that are necessary to ensure that our military and ISAF make security gains that the governance structure is in place to hold those gains," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.

He said that the scheduled May 12 White House meeting between the US President Barack Obama and Karzai is still on. Obama, who made an unscheduled trip to Kabul last month, had a productive meeting with the Afghan President.

"President Karzai is the democratically-elected leader of Afghanistan and we will continue to work with him and others to meet the benchmarks that we feel they have to meet in order to ensure the security of the Afghan people.
We have established - and part of the discussion the President had with President Karzai a little over a week ago was to reiterate some of those benchmarks," Gibbs said.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/karzaithreatenstojointaliban/600677/2

 

[Soham]

Is this guy retarded ?

 

[Solid Beast]

What a shameful man, he should just go join the Taliban and eat lead. I always knew the principles he fronted were all based on nothing but opportunism.

 

[enlightened1]

Dear oh dear...I wonder what's next. I think they put some opium in his tea lol

 

[ajtr]

It seems as if Karzai is also hedging his options against usa/pakistan plan of reconciliation.It was the Karzai who started the taliban negotiations 1st which were ruined by the arrest of Mullah Baradar in karachi with pakistan forcing usa to reconcile what pakistan calls as good taliban ie Hizb-e-islami of gulbuddin hekmetyar and haqqani group of north waziristan.Karzai is now forced to talk to these two groups.Thats why he first invited iranian president Ahmadinejad to kabul to play his iran card.Karzai was always anti-pakistan and he doesnt want to be thrown under the bus by the usa-pak combine in future afghanistan reconciliation.thats why in future there will be more maneuvering like this from him in immediate future.Other reason being USA for all its failure in AF-Pak always blame karzai not the pakistan whom karzai see as problem and usa see it as solution.

 

[ajtr]

What did Karzai say to Clinton?

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is claiming he was surprised at the reaction to last week's comments about a conspiracy by the West to interfere in last August's election.

When he called Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last Friday, he told her that had no idea his statements, which blamed the United Nations for the "massive fraud" he now admits helped keep him in power, would run afoul of the U.S. and NATO allies pouring blood and treasure into Afghanistan to prop up his own government against a fierce Taliban onslaught.

"Karzai, during the course of the conversation, expressed surprise his comments had ‘caused a stir,'" State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told The Cable, adding that Karzai did not actually go as far as to apologize or retract the comments.

"He clarified what he meant. He assured us that his comments were not directed at the United States," Crowley said.

Some of those comments, however, were directed at American diplomat Peter Galbraith, who was the U.N.'s No. 2 official at the time of the election and was later sacked for complaining about the fraud.

And the Karzai-Obama dispute over who should control a key Afghan electoral oversight commission is far from over. Karzai escaped the ruling of the Afghan Parlaiment's lower house, which said he couldn't choose all five commission members, when then upper house neglected to ratify that decision.

Meanwhile, there are signs the Obama administration remains concerned about Karzai's remarks as it works with the Afghan president to move forward on a host of issues, not the least of which is the impending military campaign in and around Kandahar.

U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry also spoke with Karzai prior to the Clinton call, and Clinton had conversations about Karzai's comments with members of her Afghanistan team as well as White House officials about how to respond.

Clinton, who feels she has a rapport that allows her to speak candidly with the Afghan leader, was chosen to handle the issue. She told him to concentrate on the upcoming "peace jirga," the reconciliation conference Karzai is organizing for early May.

"Our message to Karzai was to focus on the future and not the past," Crowley said.

So is it all resolved then? Depends on whom you ask.

"We reached a good understanding by the time the conversation was over," Crowley said. "We understood that this had the potential to have this spiral in a negative direction and we're satisfied that we've moved on."

But Karzai reportedly told a meeting of tribal leaders this weekend that if the international community continues to pressure him, he might just join the Taliban or halt the ongoing military offensive. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Monday morning called those comments "genuinely troubling."Crowley declined to directly address Karzai's latest comments in his Tuesday press conferece, but did issue this warning.

"His comments do have an impact in the United States and he should be aware of that," said Crowley.

 

[sob]

This is all a bargaining chip from Karzai. He has seen the Pakistan has been blackmailing the US all the way and is being rewarded for it. In recent times the Americans have publicly stated their frustrations with the Afgan regime under President Karzai. Also with the increasing Russian involvement, his position is getting undermined as the VP Khalili is reportedly cosying up to the Russians.

We have to remember one thing that he has lost his brother to the Taliban at the behest of the ISI. There is no love lost between the two.

 

[Solid Beast]

We have to remember one thing that he has lost his brother to the Taliban at the behest of the ISI. There is no love lost between the two.

If somebody really lost family to the Taliban they would NEVER make such comments, no matter what his issues with the west are. His calibre of leadership is weak and his political charm is based on wobbly support from mostly the United States. He found his way to power through oil lobby in the US.

 

[Phenom]

Its not Karzai but US which should be blamed for this statement, US on the insistence of Pakistan seems to have sidelined Karzai and is directly talking with Taliban through ISI. Karzai probably realizes his time and power would be limited and US would likely impose a more pro-pak govt on Afganistan once again, so he is trying to hedge his bets and is more willing to give in to Taliban.

IMO, Obama Administrations Af-Pak strategy has been a disaster for the region.

 

[ajtr]

Former UN envoy: Karzai "off balance"

Former deputy head of the UN mission in Afghanistan Peter Galbraith today told MSNBC that he questions Afghan President Hamid Karzai's "mental stability."

"He’s prone to tirades," Galbraith said of the Afghan leader reelected to a second, five-year presidential term last year. "He can be very emotional, act impulsively."

"In fact, some of the palace insiders say that he has a certain fondness for some of Afghanistan’s most profitable exports," Galbraith charged, referring to opium or heroin.

Galbraith's own tenure at the UN mission in Afghanistan was controversial and ended last fall when he was fired after accusing the UN of looking the other way from election fraud in Afganistan's August presidential elections first round vote. Later, reports said Galbraith had supported a plan to try to replace Karzai if he didn't accept a second-round vote.

But other diplomats and officials in Washington are whispering that Karzai's recent statements that he would join the Taliban and that the West was plotting against him are signs of paranoia and manic depression. And one of the main questions raised during last fall's Obama administration Afpak policy review about whether the U.S. has an "Afghan partner" to which it can transfer responsibilities after NATO-led forces clear out the Taliban remains as uncertain as ever.

Karzai's recent statements and the recent diplomatic whispers seem to reinforce the concerns raised by U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry in classified cables back to Washington that were leaked last fall during the intense administration policy review.

"President Karzai is not an adequate strategic partner," Eikenberry wrote in a November 6 cable to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton later published by the New York Times. "He and much of his circle do not want the U.S. to leave and are only too happy to see us invest further. They assume we covet their territory for a never-ending war on terror and for military bases to use against surrounding powers."

"With his re-election, Karzai will remain Afghanistan's dominant political actor," Eikenberry continued. "We hope we can move him towards taking firm control of his country and guiding its future. But sending more combat forces will only strengthen his misconceptions about why we are here. ... Even with such an understanding, it strains credulity to expect Karzai to change fundamentally this late in his life and in our relationship."

 

[ajtr]

Karzai's invitation to White House may be cancelled: US


WASHINGTON: Signalling a strained relationship with Hamid Karzai, United States has indicated that Afghanistan President's White House invitation could be withdrawn if he continues with his anti-US rhetoric.

The US would continue to evaluate the statements coming from Karzai and if there is no sign of improvement, the evaluation could result in cancellation of the invitation, a senior Obama administration official said.

President Obama, during his meeting with the Afghan President two weeks ago in Kabul, had invited Karzai to the White House on May 12.

The May 12 meeting as of now was still on, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters.

"I would say that that meeting is still on the schedule as of now," Gibbs said, but quickly cautioned: "We certainly would evaluate whatever continued or further remarks President Karzai makes as to whether that's constructive to have such a meeting, sure."

Observing that Karzai was democratically elected President of Afghanistan, he said: "President Karzai needs to understand, that the safety and security of his country is not going to be gained simply by rooting out or moving extremist threats in certain areas that isn't ultimately then filled with good governance.

"The President has been clear with President Karzai, going back to last fall, and in numerous meetings and videoconferences since," he added.

Gibbs said the Obama Administration would want to see Karzai fulfill the commitments that he enunciated both at his inaugural address and at a donors conference in London -- those commitments he made not just to his people but to the international community that have invested in ensuring the security of his country.

 

[plugwater]

Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, threatens to block Nato offensive

The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, has cast doubt over Nato’s planned summer offensive against the Taliban in the southern province of Kandahar, as more than 10,000 American troops pour in for the fight.

Karzai threatened to delay or even cancel the operation — one of the biggest of the nine-year war — after being confronted in Kandahar by elders who said it would bring strife, not security, to his home province.

Visiting last week to rally support for the offensive, the president was instead overwhelmed by a barrage of complaints about corruption and misrule. As he was heckled at a shura of 1,500 tribal leaders and elders, he appeared to offer them a veto over military action. “Are you happy or unhappy for the operation to be carried out?” he asked.

The elders shouted back: “We are not happy.”

“Then until the time you say you are happy, the operation will not happen,” Karzai replied.

General Stanley McChrystal, the Nato commander, who was sitting behind him, looked distinctly apprehensive. The remarks have compounded US anger and bewilderment with Karzai, who has already accused the United States of rigging last year’s presidential elections and even threatened to switch sides to join the Taliban.

For President Barack Obama, the battle to drive the Taliban from their heartland is seen as the main test of his “surge” strategy to send 30,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan. The United States calls Kandahar the “centre of gravity” of the war in Afghanistan.

Senior commanders and diplomats emphasise, however, that success would depend on action by Karzai to eliminate corruption and set up a form of local government.

Nato’s plans envisage political manoeuvres, from a purge of provincial leadership to the creation of precinct councils, to tackle the roots of the Taliban rebellion. The aim is to wrest power from so-called warlords — including the president’s own brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai.

With the Afghan president increasingly regarded as “gone rogue”, hopes of such action were fading. One US official said after the shura that Karzai had proved neither a reliable ally nor popular with his own people: “He can rail against the West all he likes — no one wants him to look like a foreign puppet. The trouble is, his erratic speeches are matched by erratic actions. That’s why this tension is undermining the offensive.”

The latest row began when Karzai decried “huge fraud” in the elections, saying it was “done by the foreigners”. After telephoning Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, the next day to clarify his remarks, Karzai escalated the attack. Witnesses said he told MPs at a private meeting: “If I come under foreign pressure, I might join the Taliban.” His spokesman hastily denied it.

In Kandahar he persisted, deflecting complaints against himself with further criticism of outsiders and saying he had now “rescued myself from foreigners’ orders”.

Few elders at the shura seemed impressed. They pressed for a purge of his officials. “If we speak out and if we tell you the truth of what’s happening here, we will not last the night,” said one elder. “We will be assassinated. Everyone is scared.”

A white-bearded frail man stood up, leaning on a walking stick, and said: “The other day people came with guns and told me to shut my shop and go to my house. I phoned the police. They said, ‘It’s none of our business and we don’t care’.”

Sitting just off the stage at the meeting was the president’s brother. Ahmed Wali Karzai is the head of Kandahar provincial council and is alleged by US officials to profit from drug trafficking and organised crime. The president is reported to have refused US requests to remove him from his post.

On the streets of the city this weekend there appeared to be little or no support for a Nato push in the province. “Look what happened in Marjah,” said one local government official in Kandahar, referring to the last US offensive launched in February in central Helmand province.

“The US controls the place by day but the Taliban control it by night. What is the point? If you help the government, you will be murdered.”

At a popular coffee shop in the city centre, Khaled, a medical student from Kabul, said the influence of the Taliban was creeping back into the area.

“A Nato offensive here will not help,” he added.

“We know what they do. They arrive in great numbers and provide security for two weeks and then they go and the insecurity returns.”

General Karl Eikenberry, the US ambassador to Afghanistan, had warned Clinton about Karzai’s character last year. He said that McChrystal’s proposals for a a troop surge should not be supported unless the president changed.

“President Karzai is not an adequate strategic partner,” he wrote in a telegram that was later leaked.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7094217.ece

 

[thakur_ritesh]

this is getting so interesting by the day, here is an american agent, hamid karzai, brought in specifically to run the show for the americans post the ouster of the taliban but with a defeat looming large on the face of the americans, as a result of all the follies committed by the americans, the same agent is showing a middle finger when he is being dared at.

its so funny, first they wanted to kick him out by planting stories about an extremely corrupt afgan regime headed by karzai to get in abdullaha abhullaha through a stage managed presidential elections, as if all this was not happening from day one or is not happening in neighboring pakistan where the things are in tatters and a country backstabbing amrica, and when that could not be pulled off successfully the americans turned to pakistanis who were anyways playing a double faced game.

now with karzai feeling the heat, says he is going to turn to the taliban and why not he is of course a pushtun and possibly a more presentable and acceptable face in case tomorrow taliban were to form the government yet again though a deal needs to be brokered between mullah omar and karzai something he was working on but with paks allergic to the idea the party there has got stalled midway.

man this chap has in him to even involve iran in here, a place that can be defined as the backyard of america, though for now he seems to have been cornered but needs to be seen for how long. one certainly has to give it to karzai, this chap has the balls to take on the mightiest, so what's next for karzai after being a drug addict, a pimp or an assassination, take your pick, he has become just too much of pain in the ass for his masters.

 

[sandeepdg]

Don't you guys know , that Mr. Karzai has a weakness for Afghanistan's most famous export : HEROIN !