“During the period after 9/11 when we were in the process of toppling the Taliban and routing out al Quaida’s bases in Afghanistan, Karzai suited-up and fought in combat operations right alongside our spec-ops forces. His intelligence information and contacts were invaluable to their operations and missions.”
If that’s true I sit corrected - do you have a source?
This isn't one of those subjects where public cites are readily available. Due to the classified nature of the operations and personnel involved there simply aren't public news stories about it. My information comes from personal contacts with military people serving there at the time (Dec. 2001 through Summer 2002).
The closest thing I ever saw on TV was a Military Channel program on spec-ops night operations in 2002. It was nearly all shown in that greenish night-vision color. The local Afghan leader and his followers who were shown guiding and fighting alongside our guys just happened to be Hamid Karzai. Keep in mind this was long before he emerged as a national Afghan leader. At that time he was just one of many Afghanis who were down in the trenches putting their lives on the line helping us. The only reason I noted it was because I'd already heard his name. If you wanted to poke around some of the military forums and discussion sites on the net I'm sure you could find some info, but the issue is pretty much moot at this point.
I wasn't so much intent on "correcting" you as was trying to get across the point that Karzai is getting a bum rap and is being set-up and betrayed by us, just as we did earlier to Ahmad Shah Massoud. He's no choirboy, George Washington or other saintly type, but is a product of and must function in his culture in ways that will get things done, while simultaneously appeasing us and the other Western allies by going through the motions of "democracy". The error lies with us and our hubris in thinking we can impose a Western-style government on a culture that simply isn't ready for it.