Posted on 11/02/2009 10:26:09 AM PST by Lurkina.n.Learnin
WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The White House declared Hamid Karzai the legitimate president of Afghanistan on Monday and said President Barack Obama's decision on whether to send more U.S. troops there is still weeks away.
A stunning about-face like that deserves a source link. How ‘bout it?
Looks like Carville’s trip to Afghanistan to support Karzai’s opponent came to naught. Obama & Co. fails once again.
So now what will the Commander in Dithering do?
And they still recognize Zelaya in Honduras.
IIRC, the Karzai family goes way back...comparable to a Kennedy
As if we needed further proof that the nation is being run by amateurs....
Carville wasn’t even supporting the second place guy. He was just trying to get it in a runoff.
Except for JFK, you wouldn’t find any other Kennedy braving battle alongside our troops the way Karzai did.
Joe Kennedy jr died, Johns older brother, died in WW2
Obama STILL dithering. Troops still dying.
Excuse me but isn’t that for the Afghan people to decide and announce?
Now that the election is settled, stop dithering and get our men and women the back-up they need.
Karzai is probably relieved after somebody in the US Government put a bulls-eye on his brother. He probably figured that he was next to be tossed over the side, Diem-style.
However, a fatally wounded and damaged Karzai.
Lookit his back, it’s filled with knives stuck in by his erstwhile American allies - Galbraith, Obama, Biden, Rahm, Axelrod, Jarrett,Carville, CNN, MSNBC, etc etc.
A prime example of Kissinger’s dictum.
It is dangerous to be America’s enemy, but often fatal to be America’s friend.
Yea, with friends like this who needs enemies
James Carville Joins The Afghan Campaign Trail
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=107006724
July 25, 2009
What do Louisiana and Afghanistan have in common? These days, it’s James Carville.
The Democratic strategist who got Bill Clinton elected to the White House has signed on with another dark horse presidential candidate — this one in Afghanistan.
At a time when many Afghans prefer to lessen their leaders’ ties to the U.S. government, working with a famous American campaign strategist may seem a risky move. And it’s a race that is tougher than most, even for Carville, who has advised many international candidates.
But Afghan challenger Ashraf Ghani jokes that James Carville’s roots give him keen insight. “This is a Louisiana boy who understands. If you understand New Orleans, you understand Afghanistan,” Ghani laughs.
The crack about Louisiana’s reputation for corruption and backroom deals makes Carville laugh, too. “Yeah, I felt a little bit at home, to be honest with you,” he quips.
Jokes aside, Carville says he sees real hope for Afghanistan’s future. It’s a future he wants Ghani — a former finance minister and World Bank analyst — to shape.
“It’s a fascinating country. It has a very distinct pull on people,” Carville says.
Many things people think about Afghanistan in the United States are “just wrong,” he says, adding: “Just because it has a failed president doesn’t mean that it has to be a failed country.”
The president he is referring to is incumbent Hamid Karzai. Karzai’s popularity is plummeting because of the growing Taliban insurgency and widespread allegations of corruption in his government. Yet a poll done in May had Karzai with more than a 20-point lead over his challengers.
Ghani, on the other hand, is in third place. He trails Abdullah Abdullah, an ophthalmologist and former commander in the Northern Alliance, which fought against the Taliban when it ruled the country.
Carville’s goal is to try and force the presidential election into a second round. That will happen if no candidate gets a majority of the votes cast on Aug. 20.
“Do we have our set of challenges? Of course,” Carville says. “But hey, I always believe in staying optimistic. Optimistic and on the offensive, that’s my motto.”
Ghani is equally driven. He and Carville met in Washington this spring through mutual friends. Carville won’t say whether he’s being paid to advise Ghani, but the candidate claims Carville is volunteering his time. It’s clear, however, that the challenge is part of the deal’s attraction.
“Normally you have a range of tools from polling and focus group data to targeting and that kind of stuff, and none of that is really available in Afghanistan,” Carville says. “So it was kind of refreshing to go back and do campaigns the old-fashioned way.”
Ghani says some of his favorite advice from Carville is to keep his message short and on point. “He’s telling me not to be an academic, which is what I need to hear.”
Carville hopes to hit the campaign trail with Ghani in the coming weeks. He scoffs when asked if he worries that he’ll end up in places where Western troops and the Taliban are fighting. He says risk is part of the job.
“I mean, I doubt I’ll go walking around Helmand province during a Marine Corps offensive or something, but it’s what I do,” he says. That offensive will likely continue until the election next month.
I thought the entire Obama troop decision was predicated on a “legitimate” Afghan government. He has now declared Karzai “legitimate”. Time for a decision. No more excuses.
Obviously you didn’t hear Obama’s latest remarks.
Basically admonished Karzai for corruption, and then we need a new start with some conditions and benchmarks laid down to tackle corruption, graft etc etc.
He’s legit but now he’s gonna be forced to grovel to Obama.
Oh, sorry I missed that. New day, new reasons not to make a decision.
Karzai
Ahmadinejad
Zelaya
Mr. President that’s a mighty impressive group you’ve got there.
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