Posted on 10/23/2010 7:06:39 PM PDT by nuconvert
KABUL, Afghanistan -- One evening last August, as President Hamid Karzai wrapped up an official visit to Iran, his personal plane sat on the airport tarmac, waiting for a late-running passenger: Iran's ambassador to Afghanistan.
The ambassador, Feda Hussein Maliki, finally appeared, taking a seat next to Umar Daudzai, Karzai's chief of staff and his most trusted confidant. According to an Afghan official on the plane, Maliki handed Daudzai a large plastic bag bulging with packets of euro bills. A second Afghan official confirmed that Daudzai carried home a large bag of cash.
"This is the Iranian money," said an Afghan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Many of us noticed this."
The bag of money is part of a secret, steady stream of Iranian cash intended to buy the loyalty of Daudzai and promote Iran's interests in the presidential palace, according to Afghan and Western officials here. Iran uses its influence to help drive a wedge between the Afghans and their American and NATO benefactors, they say.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Ever get the feeling that all lives lost are in vain,all capital was spent for a never ending war? I would think the more effective way to handle the issue would be to bomb Iran and Pakistan, the guys who are making the tools of war and funding their foot soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Get rid of the proxies and get to the principals.
Guarantee that all jihadi talk would be marginalized!
Bags of cash, that’s how democrats see government...
Before we came into the picture, Afghanistan was a battleground between the Talibs, backed by Pakistan and the arab world, versus the Northern Alliance backed by the Russians and Iran.
We have introduced another element to the earlier struggle, but as we start to head toward the exit, the forces on the ground will start making new alliances which may look a lot like the old alliances. Karzai has to look ahead to the post-US Afghanistan. If we’re not staying, what do you think he’s going to do.
Karzai’s regime was pretty much pro-Iran from the beginning. The Iranians never liked the Taliban. In addition to the cleansing of half of Iraq’s Christian population and the enshrinement of Shi’ite law in Iraq’s constitution, a chief result of this war was to create two Iran-friendly regimes on Iran’s western and eastern borders.
They are all liars and crooks!
And anyone researching can hear and read about government Afghanis shipping dollars out of Afghanland by the pallet, too.
Guess medieval Islamified tribals is as medeival Islamified tribals does, hayna? Or no?
Or, as the stewardesses sometimes joke, “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying with us; we’ll be landing at Riyadh International in a few minutes. As you might expect, it’s hot and sunny, and should be that way for the next few months. And, if you desire, you should now set your watch back to the 11th century for the correct local time.”
"I am top Karzai aide!"
(Hey, it's worth a shot.)
They contained tons of currency provided to Karzai by the USA!
That nails it.
He's going to play Realpolitik just like everybody else in the region.
Yep! We have to have a leader that is willing to say that not only is islam at war with us but that we are at war with islam.
That seems to be the best way to get influence in Afghanistan - with money. But the Russians, in the end, ruefully said that one can never buy Afghans one can only rent them.
Turkey's ruling Islamist (political Islam, Sharia Law advocates) AK Party received $25 million dollars from Iran.
Turkey denies Daily Telegraph claim of Iran donation to AKP
Along with decades of stealth and deceit by U.S.-based Fethullah Gülen the AK Party is (not so) slowly destroying modern Turkey's secular democratic republic form of Western-oriented government.
“not so slowly” is right. Reports from people who have travelled there just over the past few yrs are that the number of women wearing burkas has increased a lot.
“But the Russians, in the end, ruefully said that one can never buy Afghans one can only rent them”
As can be said about many others, too.
Opinions of Karzai have certainly changed since his first visit here when the Press oohed & aahed over his wardrobe.
Thanks for the ping!
Thanks FARS.
The bag of money is part of a secret, steady stream of Iranian cash intended to buy the loyalty...
Past tense. Cat's out of the bag. But Iran was dumping landmines and weapons over the Iraqi borders to shia's and has probably been doing the same fior Afghani's, heck they have a whole underground Hizbollah contingent money laundering right here in the US; oops is that still secret?
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