Posted on 05/05/2009 7:41:12 PM PDT by nickcarraway
In retrospect, United States President Barack Obama did a great favor to Afghan President Hamid Karzai by excluding him from his charmed circle of movers and shakers who would wield clout with the new administration in Washington. Obama was uncharacteristically rude to Karzai by not even conversing with him by telephone for weeks after he was sworn in, even though Afghanistan was the number one foreign policy priority of his presidency.
Vice President Joseph Biden traveled to Kabul to let it be known to Karzai that he was a fallen angel and unless Karzai mended his ways and did that soon enough, the US would rather be rid of him once and for all. Biden made it brutally plain that as a
surrogate the US had installed in power, it could as easily banish him from grace.
The shrewd man that he is, with an eye and an ear trained constantly on Washington, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Jaap de Hoop Schaffer promptly pitched in and harshly chastised Karzai in an Op-Ed in the Washington Post, as if the Afghan leader was a mere vassal of the Western alliance. It was an appalling breach of protocol as Schaffer, a one-time foreign minister himself, should have known.
But Karzai has had the last laugh as he travels to Washington from Kabul for an "intense" trilateral summit meeting with Obama and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday. Schaffer, Biden and Obama - indeed, they all have something bitter to swallow this week. Karzai will be around for another five years. The word coming out of Kabul is that Karzai is as of now all but certain to win the Afghan presidential election on August 20.
(Excerpt) Read more at atimes.com ...
sounds like the treatment given to the Chrysler creditors (and BofA).
so, this is the official way to do business??
Karzai is one of the shrewdest politicians in the world. Obama is a fool to try to play him.
“Biden made it brutally plain that as a surrogate the US had installed in power, it could as easily banish him from grace.”
Isn’t this what Obama has apologized for - the “past arrogance of US foreign policy?”
The West wants Karzai, that’s why they’re shunning him, so he can gain some street cred in Kabul.
You don’t really believe that Obama was rude to Karzi on purpose so he could get ‘street creds’, do you?
Following that logic then, tell me why Obama is kneeling to the Saudi King? And kissing the backside of Ortega and Chavez?
Obama is making heads of state all over the planet very nervous. He is a loose cannon. Just read an article about it.
Each President tries to be the opposite of his immediate predecessor. George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush are people with integrity and class, which is why Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have tried so hard to be devoid of class.
What would really benefit 0bama the most would be a huge dose of humility coupled with the realization that he is being “played” by his marxist dictator buddies around the world.
Sorry, they don't have to try at all.
These idiots don’t even know HOW to conduct business. They only know Chicago style politics. I hope it hurries up to bite them on the butt.
They don’t have to TRY, they HAVE no class.
Has Obozo caught Osama yet?? What’s takin him so long?
Pray for America and Our Troops
We currently have the most arrogant Sec of State and most arrogant POTUS since the admin of Jimmy the peanut farmer, after they campaigned for two years, lambasting the supposed arrogance of the preceding POTUS.
What they really meant was, that he was arrogant to disagree with them.
When Dims charge someone with something, especially a personal trait, you can bet the truth is that what they charge others to be is what they are.
Great point!
So Karzai could show he is not a puppet of the US President.
Bowing to Saud and kissing the behinds of Chavez and Ortega simply shores up his support amongst the radical acorn types here in this country.
Obama hobnobs with anti-Americans who have hated Bush for the past 8 years, apologizes for America and lets them know that he hates Bush too. They love him in a patronizing way (the way adults might take delight in a clever performance by a cute kid), and continue to hate America, but all Obama cares about is that he's personally popular.
I wonder if al-Qaeda understands the dynamics of American politics well enough to realize that they could blow it by launching a major attack on this country before Obama is safely re-elected...that would force Obama to reverse course on some of his dismantling of the War on Terror. After the 2012 election his power will be secure and a terrorist attack wouldn't hurt him--in fact he might be able to use it in the quest to get rid of the 22nd amendment if he wants to run again in 2016. All his good friends are Presidents for Life so why not himself?
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